To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 33788/22-27, to detail (i) when the 11 seven-seater vehicles were purchased by the Education Authority; and (ii) when all 11 vehicles will be in use to transport children.

The Education Authority (EA) informs me that the first seven-seater vehicle was purchased and delivered in March 2024, at the end of the 2023/24 financial year. Ten further vehicles were purchased in at the end of the 2024/25 financial year to expand the pilot project. Three of these vehicles were delivered to the EA in January 2025 and the remaining seven in March 2025.

The first vehicle delivered to EA in March 2024 became operational in April 2024. The EA advises that the recruitment of drivers for the 10 vehicles purchased in 2025 has been extremely challenging. One of these vehicles became operational in September 2025 and two further vehicles are coming into operation in November 2025. Recruitment remains ongoing for drivers for the remaining 6 vehicles.