Rochdale SEND school transport costs explode to £5.4m amid rising taxi bills

Wednesday, 6 August 2025 11:29

By George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter

Over £5m was spent transporting children with special educational needs and disabilities to school by Rochdale council last year.

This eye-watering sum has more than doubled in five years, according to a Freedom of Information request (FOI) submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Rochdale Council spent £5,42,317 in 2024/25 funding transport for SEND children, up from £2,678,080 in 2020/21.

These figures showcase the increasing cost the council faces in funding children’s services.

A big reason for this jump in spending is higher cost of taxis and transport as well as more children being classed as SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), according to town hall bosses.

Due to shortage in special needs school places and some complex needs requiring more specialist educational facilities, some children need to be transported out of the borough – at a higher cost to the local authority.

In 2024/25 it cost the council £1,771,746 to support transport to 57 specialist schools outside the borough alone. According to the FOI data obtained from the council, that figure has more than tripled from 2020/21 when it cost £575,073.

The educational facility furthest away from Rochdale was in Liverpool – 43.1 miles away.

Sharon Hubber, director for children’s services, said: “Like many areas across the country, the number of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in our borough has risen in recent years, along with those requiring an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

“This has affected the number of families who need assistance in transporting their children to school and the amount we are spending in associated travel costs, which have also risen significantly with inflation.

“While the council continues to support local families, discussions are also taking place with local authorities across Greater Manchester and Transport for Greater Manchester to review how it can improve transport route planning and procurement to make this more cost-effective.”

Coun Rachel Massey, portfolio holder for children’s services and education, added: “As part of our efforts to empower children with SEND, the council also provides an additional post-16 SEND travel assistance offer to support local families.

“This includes a bespoke training programme designed to help children and young people build the confidence they need to travel independently, not only to school or college but for wherever they choose to travel in the future as adults which is really important.”

Here is a breakdown of the cost of SEND transport over the last five years…

2020/21: £2,678,080
2021/22: £2,918,419
2022/23: £4,009,972
2023/24: £4,502,277
2024/25: £5,492,317

Here is a breakdown of the cost of SEND transport to out-of-borough placements over the last five years…

2020/21: £575,073
2021/22: £818,121
2022/23: £1,057,540
2023/24: £1,289,560.40
2024/25: £1,771,746.20

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