COMMENTARY ON SECTIONS

Section 16 – Information about travel arrangements

52.The Welsh Ministers may make regulations requiring a local authority to publish information about the assessment under section 2, about the arrangements made by the authority or the Welsh Ministers for learner travel and about the travel behaviour code. At present, a local authority is required to publish information about its school transport policy under the Education (School Information) (Wales) Regulations 1999. Regulation 6 of those regulations sets requirements about the timing and manner of publication of information. A local authority is also currently required by section 509AA of the Education Act 1996 to publish a transport policy statement each year for persons of ‘sixth form age’.

53.Schedules 1 and 2 of the Measure amend and repeal provisions in section 509AA so that a local authority in Wales will no longer have to publish a transport policy statement for learners of sixth form age. Regulations made under section 16 will replace the repealed requirement and bring publication of information requirements for learners of sixth form age together with what is currently required for school children by the Education (School Information) (Wales) Regulations 1999. This will create a unified set of requirements.