Councils are paying up to £950 a day to get a single child to school, underlining the spiralling cost of supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
A Telegraph investigation found that some children are undertaking round trips of up to 368 miles — roughly the distance from Watford to Edinburgh — in taxis or medical vehicles to reach their classes.
The cost of transport has doubled in the past decade to more than £2.3 billion, piling pressure on already stretched local authorities. Freedom of Information responses from more than 100 councils show how the money is being spent, often on long-distance journeys at eye-watering expense.
In Buckinghamshire, one pupil travels 59 miles to a boarding school twice a week in a specialist medical vehicle costing £949.62 per day — the highest single daily cost reported. In East Sussex, the council spent over £160,000 last year transporting a pupil just 25 miles each day, the most expensive annual bill uncovered. By contrast, the Government spends £8,210 a year on educating a child in a mainstream state school.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has described the system as “broken.” Ahead of her speech to the Labour Party conference, she pledged reforms to ensure “every child has the chance to attend a good local school which meets their needs and lets them thrive alongside their friends.”
Labour has already announced that 500,000 more children will benefit from free breakfast clubs next year. Sir Keir Starmer has hinted at wider changes to SEND provision, warning that reform is unavoidable: “I don’t want to take away rights, but we do need to reform this system.”
Councils are legally obliged to provide transport if children under eight live more than two miles from school, or over three miles for older pupils. While this often means paying for bus or train fares, the rising number of pupils with complex needs has driven a surge in costly private taxis and medical transport. Some children require two adult escorts on every journey.
Almost 5% of council tax revenues in England are now spent on SEND home-to-school transport, with some authorities devoting £1 in every £10 of their education budgets to it. Critics say the heavy reliance on taxis exposes deep flaws. Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, branded the situation a “scandal” and accused councils of wasting “tens of millions” on an “abuse and rip-off” system.
The Government is expected to announce sweeping reforms in response to council warnings that SEND costs are pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy. However, Labour faces internal dissent amid fears from parents and charities that changes will erode support for vulnerable children.
Phillipson insisted children with SEND remain a priority: “It’s unacceptable that so many are facing such long journeys for an education. We’re working with families and experts to design a system that ensures every child can attend a good local school and thrive.”
The FOI data shows most councils reporting sharp increases in the number of children entitled to taxpayer-funded school transport. Many are relying on ambulances or specialist vehicles, often with escorts, to cover long distances when local provision falls short.
Lincolnshire County Council alone spent £3.8m last year on SEND transport provided by Amvale Medical Transport, alongside £18m paid to 145 other operators, mainly taxi firms and individual drivers. Bristol City Council also contracted ambulance company E-zec Medical to help with SEND transport but declined to reveal the amounts paid.
The surge coincides with record numbers of children receiving statutory support. Nearly 639,000 now have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) — up 11% in a year and almost double six years ago. EHCPs often require councils to fund specialist transport if a pupil’s designated school is outside their local area.
In total, one in five pupils in England is receiving some form of SEND support. The fastest-growing needs are autism, speech and language difficulties, and social, emotional and mental health conditions, including ADHD.