Councils spent more than £166 million on taxis, minibuses and private-hire vehicles to help get pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to and from school last year.
A survey by the County Councils Network (CCN) found that county councils spent 30 per cent more on free school transport in 2017-18 than they did four years ago, a figure it described as an “exponential” rise.
And local authorities are now warning that the increasing costs, which are driven by a rise in the number of pupils, will become “unsustainable”.
“Demand for special educational needs funded school transport has increased exponentially over the last four years,” said Carl Les, CCN spokesman for children’s services and education.
“But our funding for these lifeline services has remained static. These new unfunded burdens have come at a time when local authority budgets are being stretched due to the unprecedented financial pressures we all face.
“As a result, many of us are exceeding our budgets every year on school transport…With demand and costs only projected to rise, these present a major budget risk for many of us, which will become unsustainable in the long run without additional funding.”
It is a legal requirement for councils to offer free transport to their nearest suitable school, depending on a pupil’s disability, up to the age of 17.
The survey of CCN’s 36 member authorities revealed that, in total, 23 authorities spent £166.3m on taxis, minibuses and private-hire vehicles, which are necessary for pupils with specific needs.
In total, the 36 authorities spent £323.3m on free school transport for pupils with special educational needs in 2017-18, up from £249.3m in 2013-14. Some local authorities spent as much as £8,000 per pupil, on average.
Kent County Council spent the most on taxis and private hire, totalling £22.7m last year, while Staffordshire recorded the second biggest spend at £10.3m. Derbyshire County Council spent £8m last year.
Mr Les said: “These services are a lifeline for our young people, particularly in rural areas…Regrettably, we are having to scale back the services we aren’t legally obliged to deliver or reroute funding from other services because the current funding for school transport is not keeping up with demand.”
The survey findings came after Tes revealed that the amount councils are spending on private special school places has risen by 40 per cent since 2012-13 - with 90 authorities together spending more than half a billion pounds on independent school places for pupils with SEND.
And MPs on the Commons Education Committee yesterday heard concerns that the system, which was reformed in 2014, had become “dysfunctional”.
A government spokesperson said: “Local authorities are required to provide transport to school for children with special educational needs and disabilities if they would not be able to walk there.
“To support councils with this, the government will provide £90.7m over the next two years to help them meet the needs of their residents, which includes providing this transport for children and young people with SEND.
“We expect councils to make reasonable decisions based on their knowledge of the needs of their population, local transport infrastructure and their available resources.”
