Soaring special needs school transport costs ‘unsustainable’, say councils

Local authorities fear service cuts or even bankruptcy as costs jump from 400m to 700m in five years

Soaring costs of school transport for children with special educational needs is causing councils in England to warn of service cuts and potential insolvency, according to local authority leaders.

The County Council Network (CCN), which represents mainly rural local authorities in England, says its 37 members are spending more than 700m a year on school transport for 85,000 children with special education needs and disabilities (Send), compared with less than 400m five years ago.