Soaring costs trigger calls to address transport for Send pupils in England

National Audit Office finds 415m overspend as more children travel farther to schools that meet their needs

Home-to-school transport costs in England have risen to 2.3bn a year, as increasing numbers of children with special educational needs and disabilities travel farther afield to schools that can meet their requirements, according to a report.

More than half a million children and young people up to the age of 25 now get council-funded transport from their home to school or college, triggering a 415m overspend by local authorities last year, the National Audit Office (NAO) found.