Written questions by Hoare.

How many students require transport to mainstream schools (a) nationally and (b) in Dorset.

The department has not routinely collected data about the number of children who have their home-to-school travel arranged by local authorities. We intend to improve this area, so that central and local government have the robust evidence required to inform decision making.In February 2025, the department launched a voluntary data collection about the home-to-school travel arrangements local authorities make for eligible children. The data collection exercise closed in mid-March. We are currently analysing the data and will be sharing findings with local authorities.

What support she plans to make available to increase after school transport in rural areas.

The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities are responsible for arranging free home-to-school travel for eligible children. A child is eligible if they are of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, a disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income families.Local authorities’ duty is focused on ensuring children can attend school for the main school day, but public transport has an important role to play too. The Bus Services Bill will put the power over local bus services in the hands of local leaders to ensure networks can meet the needs of communities who rely on them.

How many students are required to pay for transport to attend (a) sixth form and (b) college; and what the average cost is per student.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The responsibility for post-16 transport lies with local authorities, who have a duty to publish a transport policy statement each year that sets out the travel arrangements they will make to support young people to access further education.Arrangements do not have to be free, but the department expects local authorities to make reasonable decisions based on the needs of their population, local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available.The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is also used to help students with travel costs, including those on low incomes. It enables schools, colleges and training providers to support students with transport costs where these have been identified as a barrier to participation.​In addition to their statutory responsibilities, many local authorities do offer some form of subsidised transport which, combined with the 16 to 19 bursary, has been intended to provide financial support to students from low-income households. These decisions are best made locally, in consideration of local needs, the resources available and other local circumstances.

What support her Department can provide to establish a technical college in north Dorset.

The area of north Dorset is well served by four neighbouring further education (FE) colleges and a range of independent training providers, who provide a broad range of technical and vocation provision.The department invited applications from general FE colleges to become one of ten construction technical excellence colleges (CTECs). The window for applications closed on 4 July. With one CTEC to be appointed in each region, these colleges will be the first to achieve TEC status, playing a pivotal role in shaping the wider programme and supporting regional providers to meet critical skills needs through a ‘hub and spoke’ model.The UK's modern Industrial Strategy confirmed that we will be expanding the TECs programme to address shortages in engineering, which is critical to developing the skills needed in priority sectors including Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries and Digital and Technologies. The government will also establish defence technical excellence colleges, provide funding for courses for defence-related skills and invest in cutting-edge university facilities to increase the pipeline of talent into the defence sector.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of VAT changes on (a) private schools and (b) demand on the state sector in North Dorset constituency.

The department has made no separate estimate of the number of pupils in North Dorset specifically who will leave the independent school system as a result of VAT impact on school fees.Across the UK as a whole, including North Dorset, the government predicts, in the long-term steady state, there will be 37,000 fewer pupils in the private sector in the UK as a result of the removal of the VAT exemption applied to school fees. This represents around 6% of the current private school population.Of the 37,000 pupil reduction in the private sector, the government estimates an increase of 35,000 pupils in the state sector in the steady state following the VAT policy taking effect, with the other 2,000 consisting of international pupils who do not move into the UK state system, and domestic pupils moving into homeschooling. This state sector increase represents less than 0.5% of total UK state school pupils, of which there are over 9 million. This movement is expected to take place over several years.The impact on individual local authorities will interact with other pressures and vary. Every year lots of pupils move between schools, including between the private and state-funded sectors.Local authorities routinely support parents who need a state-funded school place, including where private schools have closed. Where local authorities are experiencing difficulties in ensuring there are enough school places for children that need them, the department will offer support and advice.The department provides capital funding through the basic need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. They can use this funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools.Dorset Council has been allocated just below £1.5 million to support the provision of new mainstream school places needed over the current and next two academic years, up to and including the academic year starting in September 2026.