§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has to issue guidelines to local authorities590W regarding concessionary fares for children travelling to and from school in order to reduce the volume of school traffic at peak times. [89918]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonConcessionary fares are essentially a matter for locally elected councils. However, my Department, with the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Health, published on 30 June a booklet entitled "School travel strategies and plans—a best practice guide for local authorities". This set out many instances of steps that have been taken in different parts of the country to improve safety and reduce car use on the journey to school; it included an example of the introduction of lower fares for pupils.