Reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system leave unanswered questions on home-to-school transport (HTST) and council deficits, MPs have warned.

The government must clarify as soon as possible how it will support councils facing ongoing SEND deficits and high spending on transporting children to school, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said.

It comes after ministers outlined sweeping reforms to the SEND system intending to make it more inclusive for children with additional needs, as well as reducing long-term costs for local authorities.

However, plans do not cover cost pressures from HTST, MPs said following an inquiry.

PAC member Rachel Gilmour said MPs are glad the government is “beginning to grasp the nettle that is the SEND emergency”.

“But a problem this chronic and severe demands a response that does not leave any unanswered questions for children and families,” she added.

“Unfortunately, our inquiry has identified a number of glaring ones for HTST - a problematic system for parents on which government spends multiple billions a year not covered by government’s recent announcements.”

Increased need for transporting children with SEND

Councils will have 90 per cent of their high-needs deficits accrued up to this year written off, and SEND costs will be managed within the overall government budget from 2028.

This leaves councils uncertain what will happen to any deficits arising between now and 2028, PAC said.

The new funding arrangements do not cover HTST costs.

The County Councils Network has estimated that councils transported a record-high 206,000 children and young people up to age 25 with SEND to school last year at a cost of £2 billion.

A report by the National Audit Office last year found councils in England spent £415 million more than budgeted on HTST in 2023-24, with total spending growing 70 per cent from 2015-16.

The DfE is highly reliant on the SEND reforms to solve problems with HTST, MPs said, as the reforms aim to make local schools more inclusive, which should reduce the need for transporting children with SEND to schools further away.

Even if they are successful at this, it is likely to be some time before savings materialise, PAC’s report states, calling for the DfE to outline when it expects savings to start.

Reduced travel options

MPs also said the DfE does not understand how access to transport is affecting attendance, or how difficult it is for parents to navigate the HTST system, particularly once their children are over 16.

Declining local bus services, particularly in rural areas, have reduced travel options and increased reliance on the council providing HTST, the committee’s inquiry found.

MPs said: “A move to local bus franchising, where local authorities decide the routes, timetables and fares for local services, provides an opportunity to replace expensive contracts with lower-cost alternatives.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has set out the detail for how HTST will be funded, but not how it will monitor whether this is successful, the report added.

Former schools minister Catherine McKinnell recently questioned DfE officials on whether HTST to breakfast clubs would become a legal entitlement, pointing out that low-income families would benefit most from the clubs.

Last month, Tes put the same question to early education minister Olivia Bailey, who said the government “continues to keep everything under review”.

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