£20m grammar school transport scheme quietly shelved
The government has confirmed that they are scrapping a £20 million scheme to provide free transport to grammar schools.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb has confirmed in a written answer to a question from the Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner last week that the scheme, which could have cost up to £5,000 per pupil in taxi fares, would not proceed. He subsequently confirmed this week that money has been returned to the Treasury.
Last March, the chancellor Philip Hammond announced that disadvantaged pupils would be offered free transport to grammar schools up to 15 miles from their home, allocating £5 million a year for the scheme between this year and 2022.
The proposal was an extension of a scheme which currently gives free transport to certain schools for pupils eligible for free school meals, or whose families receive maximum working tax credit free transport. Selective schools are not currently covered by the policy.
Read the full article in Schools Week.