Debate contribution: Home-to-school Transport: East Londonderry
Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Givan
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 6 October 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Home-to-school Transport: East Londonderry
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5776876
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The Member makes a really important point about the length of time and the distances that young people in his constituency have to travel. That is one of the reasons why we have engaged and sought to have all schools being part of the solution and the provision. It is also why we have mapped out a 10-year plan for significant capital investment in the special school estate. I have a paper before the Executive that is still being blocked by Sinn Féin that would have dedicated funding for specialist provision by way of enhancing the school estate. All of that is creating a problem with transport, and the increased cost of transport is partly as a result of the failure to invest in the school estate, which we are trying to do in a strategic fashion. The position at the middle of September was that there were 62 contracts progressing through the EA's evaluation process. That was affecting 135 pupils whose taxi transport arrangements had not, at that point, been confirmed. However, the EA has advised that the large majority of those contracts have now been provisionally awarded and are awaiting completion of the required compliance checks. Obviously, financial support — a payment — can be provided to parents in circumstances where there is not a bus, an EA fleet bus or taxi provision. However, that is suboptimal, and, therefore, the EA is continuing to make provision available for those families.
242 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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