Significantly less funding will be allocated to providing extra dedicated home-to-school transport in England in the second half of the autumn term, figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show.
It was confirmed on 2 October that the additional funding stream would continue beyond the October half term. In total, £27,444,623 has been allocated by DfE for that period. That is 37.6% less than the £43,999,868 provided in the first half of the term, although DfE says that any unspent money from then can be rolled over into the second period.
The funding for additional dedicated home-to-school transport is a key plank of the government’s efforts to remove children and students from the public transport network, where vehicle capacities are severely constrained owing to social distancing requirements.
The variation in allocations of the latest funding from the first tranche is considerable. Of the 79 local transport authorities (LTAs) that received money for additional dedicated home-to-school transport in the first half of the autumn term, only 62 have been awarded funds for the second half. Many that will receive further money have been granted much less, but a smaller number of LTAs will see significantly more.
Allocations for the second tranche have been calculated based on information provided by LTAs about their actual and forecasted spending. The methodology for the first round was based on pupil numbers and distance from home to school or college. The second half of the autumn term is generally only three or four days shorter than the first half.
Of the 62 LTAs that will receive further money, 16 will receive more than they did in the first half of the term. Five will receive the same amount and 41 will receive less.
Transport for London takes the largest share of the second tranche of funding. It accounts for £5.121m, or 18.7% of all money being made available. Six other LTAs will receive over £1m. They are North East Combined Authority, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, West Midlands Combined Authority, Northamptonshire County Council, Surrey County Council and Kent County Council.
In descending order, the full list of dedicated home-to-school transport funding allocations from the second tranche, and how they vary from the first round, is as follows:
Transport for London £5,121,424 -13%
North East Combined Authority £2,855,871 +89%
Greater Manchester Combined Authority £2,474,016 +10%
West Midlands Combined Authority £1,474,598 -39%
Northamptonshire County Council £1,300,953 +91%
Surrey County Council £1,088,118 +15%
Kent County Council £1,057,184 -31%
Devon County Council £986,418 +46%
Hertfordshire County Council £815,158 -14%
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority £753,122 -38%
Tees Valley Combined Authority £597,308 +15%
Norfolk County Council £503,012 -33%
Lincolnshire County Council £422,141 -41%
Cumbria County Council £419,936 0%
Dorset Council £411,116 +23%
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CA £377,320 -44%
Cornwall County Unitary Authority £363,588 -29%
Leicester City Council £350,000 +23%
Lancashire County Council £347,184 -67%
Cheshire West and Chester Unitary Authority £318,766 +8%
Luton Borough Council £318,237 +70%
Brighton and Hove Council £290,319 +83%
East Sussex County Council £288,287 -38%
Derby City Council £267,494 +30%
Kingston upon Hull City Council £242,382 +38%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Pool Council £230,996 -23%
Wiltshire County Unitary Authority £219,924 -51%
North Somerset Council £219,032 +32%
Blackpool Borough Council £202,898 +89%
Southampton City Council £195,398 +29%
Hampshire County Council £188,238 -83%
Nottinghamshire County Council £179,936 -68%
Milton Keynes Council £176,418 -28%
Suffolk County Council £170,362 -73%
Gloucester City Council £164,868 -70%
Plymouth City Council £163,034 -15%
Derbyshire County Council £134,014 -78%
West Sussex County Council £133,726 -79%
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council £133,408 0%
Sheffield City Region Combined Authority £127,093 -87%
Buckinghamshire County Council £113,632 -80%
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council £111,228 -10%
Torbay Borough Council £100,320 0%
North Yorkshire County Council £99,568 -81%
Portsmouth City Council £96,712 0%
Thurrock Council £90,420 -46%
Shropshire County Unitary Authority £90,136 -65%
Worcestershire County Council £85,840 -83%
East Riding of Yorkshire Council £80,107 -70%
County of Herefordshire District Council £69,660 -60%
North Lincolnshire Council £62,310 -49%
Isle of Wight Council £60,678 -44%
Medway Borough Council £58,176 -76%
North East Lincolnshire Council £57,988 -52%
Telford and Wrekin Council £57,964 -65%
Wokingham District Council £40,589 -72%
Stoke-on-Trent City Council £30,184 -86%
Somerset County Council £23,357 -95%
Rutland County Council £11,836 -57%
Bedford Unitary Authority £10,808 -92%
Leicestershire County Council £8,712 -98%
Isles of Scilly Council £1,100 0%
The following LTAs will receive no additional money from DfE during the second half of the autumn term:
- Bracknell Forest Borough Council
- Central Bedfordshire Unitary Authority
- Cheshire East Unitary Authority
- City of York Council
- Essex County Council
- Nottingham City Council
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Reading Borough Council
- Slough Borough Council
- Staffordshire County Council
- Swindon Borough Council
- Warrington Borough Council
- Warwickshire County Council
- West Berkshire District Council
- West of England Combined Authority
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough Council.
A full list of all funding allocations, including totals, can be downloaded as a spreadsheet from here.
