AQW 9044/17-22

Mr Andrew Muir
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 19/10/2020
Answered On Date: 21/10/2020
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education whether he intends to actively explore enhanced Home to School Provision to provide greater social distancing in order to limit the transmission of COVID-19 via (i) increased Translink services; (ii) utilisation of Private Coach Operators; (iii) engagement of private taxis, where relevant regulatory arrangements permit.

Answer:

My Department’s current guidance states that pupils on all buses should always seek to maintain a social distance from others wherever possible, however the guidance for public transport on social distancing does not apply on dedicated school transport. A range of associated mitigating measures have been put in place to minimise the risks. This guidance was developed in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Advisor.

Any form of social distancing on home to school transport vehicles would dramatically reduce the available capacity to a fraction of that required. As a result it would not be possible to transport over 80,000 pupils each day and it would be likely that many pupils would be unable to attend school in this scenario. The risks to pupils’ mental health, social development and educational outcomes for such pupils would be significant.

The Education Authority continues to work closely with Translink and the Department for Infrastructure to ensure sufficient transport capacity is available to meet the needs of pupils allocated a bus pass for use on either a public bus service or a dedicated school only service, whilst also maintaining bus service capacity for the general public. The provision of school transport whether on dedicated school buses or public buses has been provided through the flexible use of the Translink fleet.

The Department for Infrastructure has informed me that Translink has worked with the Education Authority and local schools to add additional dedicated school services and has advised that Translink is also providing over 500 additional bus services to supplement the public transport network to facilitate social distancing for all passengers, including school children.

I believe that the range of additional services that have been put in place are sufficient to ensure the implementation of the current guidance, however I will continue to be guided by the relevant medical and scientific advice.