Rising Costs of School Transport for Children with Special Educational Needs
The financial burden on local councils in England has reached alarming levels, primarily due to the increasing number of children requiring special educational needs (SEND) support. According to a recent report, councils spent nearly £2.5 billion last year on transporting these children to school, marking a significant rise from previous years.
This surge in costs has been described as "unsustainable" by officials, with the total expenditure on free school transport increasing by over 70% in less than a decade. This means that councils spent an additional £415 million compared to their budgeted amounts last year alone.
The Growing Demand for Special Educational Needs Support
Currently, around 520,000 children in England receive transportation to school, and local authorities are struggling to manage this legal obligation within their budgets. The requirement to provide free transport applies to children with special educational needs or disabilities, those from low-income families, or students who cannot walk to their nearest suitable school due to distance.
The National Audit Office (NAO) report highlights that the total spending on home-to-school transport has increased from £1.36 billion in 2015-16 to £2.32 billion in 2023-24. This growth is largely attributed to the rising number of children identified with SEND needs, which includes conditions such as ADHD.
The number of children with education plans for SEND has risen dramatically by 166% in a decade, jumping from 240,000 in 2015 to 639,000 in January 2025. These plans, known as Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, outline legally enforceable entitlements to specific support for children and young people up to the age of 25.
Financial Implications and Challenges
The NAO report notes that the increase in the number of children assessed with SEND needs has had significant implications for free home-to-school transport. Councils have seen a 106% rise in transport spending for school children with SEND over the past decade, costing them £1.52 billion last year. Most of this expenditure went towards vehicles such as taxis and private hire cars.
On average, the cost per SEND pupil for transport was £8,116 annually, but one local authority reported transport costs of approximately £145,000 per year for a single pupil. The Department for Education estimates that, if current trends continue, the cost of free school transport could surpass £3 billion by 2029-30.
Bill Revans, the disabilities spokesman for the County Councils Network, has called the increase in spending on school transport "unsustainable." He highlighted that councils in county areas now spend more on school transport than they do on Sure Start centres, youth services, and family services combined.
Budget Shortfalls and Overspending
The NAO found that local authorities consistently spend more on home-to-school transport than they have budgeted, resulting in less funding available for other essential services. Last year, councils spent a total of £415 million—equivalent to 22%—more than their allocated budgets for home-to-school transport. Nearly half of the local authorities reported annual overspending of 20% or more.
Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, emphasized that free school transport has become one of the fastest-growing costs for councils in recent years. He attributed the majority of this increase to the growing number of children with SEND needs, along with higher transport operator costs and provider capacity constraints.
"The Schools White Paper, now delayed to 2026, and forthcoming SEND reforms must tackle these unsustainable expenditure rises and ensure that the children and young people who rely on this invaluable service continue to be supported in their access to education," he stated.
Labour’s planned reforms to special needs funding, initially set for this autumn, were recently postponed by several months. The Government's Schools White Paper will now be released early in the New Year after ministers indicated it needed further development.