- Home to School Transport (HTSTP) is one of the largest pressures faced by local authorities in England.
- Durham County Council’s budget for HTSTP increased by £6 million to £38.8 million in 2025/26 and the cost of providing the service is expected to reach £50 million by 2029/30.
- The local authority’s Cabinet will receive an update on progress to bring the projected spend down over the period, with more than £2 million in savings already identified through the council’s transformation programme.
- Rising transport costs, along with the additional challenge of being a largely rural area, mean further savings are needed to address the budget gap. Cabinet will be asked to end the Maintained Concessionary Scheme, one of three concessionary schemes the council operates in addition to fulfilling its statutory HTSTP duties.
- The Maintained Concessionary Scheme provides transport to a small number of children at nine schools who do not meet the Government’s eligibility criteria. Ending the scheme at the end of this academic year would ensure resources are directed to families most in need.
Proposals to help a North East council meet the rising demand and escalating costs of providing Home to School Transport (HTSTP) will be discussed by councillors next week.
Analysis by the County Council Network estimates that local authorities across England will be spending a total of £3.6 million a year on HTSTP by 2030, with the statutory service now one of the largest pressures on council budgets.
These cost pressures are more acute in county and rural areas, such as County Durham, which, on average, transport twice as many children with special educational needs (SEND) than other parts of the country.
Durham County Council transports around 9,000 passengers a day, including children and young adults with SEND and those attending mainstream schools. The service is delivered through 1,246 contracts involving more than 300 different transport suppliers.
The 2025/26 budget for HTSTP is £38.8 million, an increase of £6 million on 2024/25.
Members of the local authority’s Cabinet will hear how an increase in the number of children on Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and those with more specific transport needs, such as passengers requiring taxis and assistants, are key reasons for the rising costs.
Rising transport costs, along with the additional challenge of being a largely rural area, mean spending on HTSTP is expected to reach £50 million by 2029/30 – almost £5 million more than planned budget increases.
Cabinet will be updated on work being undertaken to meet this budget gap, including how the council’s transformation programme has identified £2 million of savings for this financial year.
As part of further plans to make savings, Cabinet will be asked to reconsider a proposal to end the Maintained Concessionary Scheme at the end of this academic year.
This is one of three HTSTP concessionary schemes Durham County Council operates in addition to fulfilling its statutory duty to provide transport to eligible children. It currently provides reduced fares to 143 children who attend nine schools.
Cabinet agreed in principle in 2023 to phase out the concessionary scheme and reaffirmed in 2024 that the proposals would be reviewed. By agreeing to remove the scheme now, it would save the local authority £200,000 a year.
Cabinet will also be asked to undertake a review of post-16 travel assistance, the cost of which has risen from just over £1 million in 2018 to £4.7 million in 2024. If a review is approved, a report with recommendations will be brought back to Cabinet in the autumn.
Cllr Cathy Hunt, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “In an ideal world, we would support all families with travel to school and college, but sadly this just isn’t possible with the funding local authorities receive. HTSTP is one of our biggest and fastest growing financial pressures on councils, and while we have made significant savings through our transformation programme, costs continue to escalate.
“This means we are having to look at the concessionary schemes we provide which are over and above what is required of us by government. Ending the Maintained Concessionary Scheme is a measure that has been discussed for a number of years and, at a time when councils are facing mounting pressures, we can’t continue to put it off. It’s not an easy decision to make but it will help to ensure the long-term sustainability of HTSTP, and direct valuable resources to families most in need.”
The council has discussed the proposals with the schools that would be affected to gather their views and provide guidance about alternative travel arrangements. These discussions would continue if Cabinet agrees to the recommendations.
Cabinet will meet at County Hall at 10am on Wednesday 11 February.
