To ask the Minister of Education whether she plans to reintroduce the rural bus service for St John the Baptist College, Portadown to serve the villages of Maghery, Annaghmore, Ballyhegan, Loughgall and Scotch Street.

My department is responsible for home to school transport policy and the Education Authority (EA) for the operation and delivery of school transport, which includes determining capacity and route planning for eligible pupils.

The EA informs me that it has no immediate plans to introduce a direct service from these areas to St John the Baptist College and eligible pupils have been awarded a travel pass to complete their journey to and from school using existing Translink bus services. The EA will continue to monitor the demand for such a service and explore suitable options for these pupils.