§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what quality standards are in place for home-to-school transport; and what changes to these standards(a) have taken place and (b) are planned. [81731]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggLEA contracted home-to-school transport services are covered by Best Value, which was introduced in the Local Government Act 1999 as a means of securing greater value for money from local government services. Best Value is a statutory requirement for local authorities.
Should schools choose to purchase their own transport services DfES has produced the 'Purchasing Guide for Schools' which offers a working guide for 55W school managers to help them set high quality standards when procuring and managing school transport contracts.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what funding mechanisms are available directly from his Department to(a) local authorities and (b) other education bodies for improving school transport in order to improve child truancy rates; and what the total amount paid from his Department was for improving school transport in each year since 1992; [81735]
(2) what research has been conducted and is planned by his Department on the implications on child truancy rates of changes in home-to-school transport which have taken place and which could arise from additional improvements in home-to-school transport. [81734]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggWe are currently conducting research into the causes of absence from school in order to fully understand the issues. We are not specifically looking at truancy in relation to home-to-school transport, as previous research has not shown there to be a link. There is no funding directly available for improving school transport in order to improve child truancy rates
The DfES has spent the following amounts on home-to- school transport since 1992:
Total (£ million) Percentage annual rise in expenditure 1992–93 293 — 1993–94 288 — 1994–95 319 11 1995–96 345 8 1996–97 382 11 1997–98 418 9 1998–99 444 6 1999–2000 485 9 2000–011 532 10 1 provisional