asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of schoolchildren either received free bus passes or travelled to and from school by school coach in each year since 1970.

This information is not collected on an annual basis, but from figures given in the report of the Working Party on School Transport it is estimated that in January 1972 about 11 per cent. of all school pupils in England and Wales were receiving free transport to and from school and that, of these, some 95 per cent. were travelling in stage carriage buses, contract coaches or vehicles owned by the local education authority.