Local authorities have certain duties in respect of ‘adult learners’. These duties are set out in section 508F of the Education Act (EA) 1996.

You are an ‘adult learner’ if you are over sixth form age. When considering adult learners, the LA must make transport arrangements it thinks “necessary” for two purposes. The first purpose is to help with the attendance of adults receiving education at settings:

• maintained or assisted by the LA and providing further and/or higher education, or
• within the further education sector.

Any transport arrangements provided under this duty must be free of charge.

LAs have duties under section 508G EA 1996 to consult with further education colleges and others about how they carry out their duties towards adult learners, and LAs must publish a policy saying what transport arrangements they offer.

The first place to look, when looking for information about post-16 home to school or college transport arrangements, is likely to be your LA’s ‘Transport Policy Statement’ on post-16 transport. This policy should also set out travel arrangements for those who are ‘adult learners’. You should find this statement on your LA’s website and in its Local Offer.

If you are an adult learner with an EHC plan, then this could well strengthen the argument that travel arrangements are ‘necessary’ for you. Your LA has a duty to secure the special educational provision set out in Section F of your EHC plan and will have real difficulty doing so if you can’t get to college to access that provision.

Even if your LA does not consider it ‘necessary’ to make transport arrangements for you, your LA has a discretion to pay some or all of the reasonable costs of transport if no other arrangement has been arranged (section 508F(8) EA 1996). Case law has confirmed LAs must exercise their judgement “judiciously and in good faith". This means that the LA can still choose to pay some or maybe even all of your travel costs and in making that decision the LA should be fair and consider your circumstances carefully.

If you can’t find the answer to your question in this section, you can book an appointment to speak with us.