Natspec welcomes the Public Accounts Committee’s report on home-to-school transport, published today. We are particularly pleased that it has recognised that young people aged 16–19 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have been among the most affected by local authority attempts to manage rising transport costs.
The committee highlights the significant challenges faced by young people and families navigating post-16 transport arrangements and identifies a clear “cliff edge” in entitlement once a learner reaches the age of 16. The report also directly references Natspec’s evidence of the impact this is having on specialist FE students: in a survey of Natspec member colleges, 65% reported that transport issues had resulted in learners being unable to attend college or attending intermittently, and one college reported 30 students unable to start their course because transport had not yet been agreed.
We therefore strongly welcome the committee’s recommendation that the Department for Education investigates the relationship between transport provision, attendance and participation, including the potential link between inadequate transport support and the rising number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
However, the report also highlights a deeper structural problem in the system. Transport support for learners aged 16–19 is particularly vulnerable to cuts because it is discretionary rather than statutory provision, meaning local authorities are not required to provide it in the same way as transport for pre-16s. At the same time, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG’s) new home-to-school transport formula does not take account of post-16 SEND transport needs, despite evidence that demand and costs for this group are growing.
Natspec would have liked to see the committee go further with its recommendations. The statutory duty on local authorities to provide transport support must be extended beyond compulsory school age to include 16 to 19-year-olds and 19 to 25-year-olds with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). The transport needs of these learners should also be explicitly reflected in the MHCLG’s funding formula.
Specialist FE colleges provide the support young people with some of the most complex needs to develop skills for employment, independence and adult life. Lack of transport support should not be the barrier that prevents them from taking up that opportunity.