AQW 2679/22-27

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 03/08/2022
Answered On Date: 18/08/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education how many pupils currently attend (i) primary and (ii) post-primary schools in Locality North who do not qualify for a bus pass because they do not attend their closest school of type, broken down by school, for each year for the past five years.

Answer:

The Education Authority only assesses whether a pupil qualifies for transport assistance as part of the application process and therefore data is only available in relation to pupils who have applied for transport. The EA do not hold a breakdown of applications that do not meet the qualifying criteria at individual school level.

The table below sets out the number of applications for transport assistance made in the Locality North area from academic years 2017/18 to 2021/22 and the number and proportion of those applications initially rejected due to the pupil not attending their nearest suitable school.

Applications for Transport Assistance in Locality North Area, 2017/18 – 2021/22

All Schools Transport Applications	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22
Received	7,129	9,273	8,618	8,468	8,774
Initially rejected as not attending Nearest Suitable School	1,014	1,125	706	708	721
% Rejected as not attending Nearest Suitable School	14%	12%	8%	8%	8%
Primary Schools Transport Applications	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22
Received	1,483	1,347	1,540	1,721	2,026
Initially rejected as not attending Nearest Suitable School	242	201	162	116	177
% Rejected as not attending Nearest Suitable School	16%	15%	11%	7%	9%
Post Primary Schools Transport Applications	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22
Received	5,646	7,926	7,078	6,747	6,748
Initially rejected as not attending Nearest Suitable School	772	924	544	592	544
% Rejected as not attending Nearest Suitable School	14%	12%	8%	9%	8%