§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what powers she has to intervene in respect of the provision of free school transport. [5150]
§ Mrs. GillanMy right hon. Friend has limited powers under sections 496 and 497 of the Education Act 1996. She could intervene only if she were satisfied that a local education authority had failed to fulfil a statutory duty or had acted unreasonably, in the very strict sense in which the courts have interpreted that term, and that her intervention would be expedient.