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Luke Murphy (Basingstoke) (Lab)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered SEND provision in Hampshire.
It is a pleasure to lead my first Westminster Hall debate under your chairship, Sir Mark, particularly on this important topic. I begin by recognising the parents, advocates and campaigners who have brought the issue into the public eye, especially the Kids nursery parent committee from Basingstoke, who are here today in the Public Gallery. Their dedication to advocating for inclusion and calling for urgent reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system is inspiring, and their personal stories highlight the real impact of this crisis on children, young people and their families.
When I first stood as Labour’s candidate for Basingstoke, I knew that SEND support faced challenges, but it was not until I met families across Basingstoke that I truly understood the depth of the crisis. I spoke to two mothers on the campaign, who live just two doors apart, yet both said they felt alone in their struggles with an adversarial and confusing system. They had no idea that their situations were nearly identical. Both were battling to secure essential support for their children, believing that they were alone in that fight. A mother in my constituency, Michelle, perfectly summarised the struggle. She told me:
“Raising children with SEND is incredibly challenging, exhausting and stressful. There isn’t enough support for parents to cope. We face constant appointments, endless form-filling, and have to fight for the education our kids deserve. It shouldn’t be this hard, and it doesn’t need to be this hard.”
No family should be placed in Michelle’s position, having to fight tooth and nail for a fair, inclusive education for their children.
Just last week, the National Audit Office issued a report described by the Minister for School Standards as a “damning indictment” of the SEND system. The report highlighted that the system is not only financially unsustainable, but is failing to deliver the necessary outcomes for children. It is a broken system—a crisis we inherited, after 14 years of inaction. It is heartening to know, looking around this room, that the sentiment is shared across party lines. The last Conservative Education Secretary labelled the system she left behind as “lose, lose, lose” while current Tory shadow Ministers say that they did not do enough on SEND and should hang their heads in shame. We agree.
The NAO report underscores the reality that families and councils live with every day. The demand for SEND support has surged. Education, health and care plans have increased by 140% since 2014, with more than 576,000 individuals now needing that support. Local authorities are also struggling under a £4.6 billion deficit as high-needs funding, even at £10.7 billion, fails to meet demand. Tribunal appeals have risen by 334%, which is testament to a system where families must fight for basic rights rather than being supported to achieve them.
One parent shared her story with me recently. After waiting two and a half years following an initial needs assessment, her daughter finally secured a placement in a specialist school, but it is a 70-minute round trip for only two hours of schooling each day. That family’s experience reflects a system that feels combative rather than supportive—where councils, as this mum pointed out, spend public funds on solicitors and barristers to deny or delay access to services that children are legally entitled to.
The impact of the crisis on families is stark. Nationally, only 50% of EHC plans met the statutory 20-week timeline in 2023—down from 60% in previous years. That failure to meet deadlines has left parents understandably losing faith in the system. It is little wonder that parents who have children with SEND are significantly more likely to consider home schooling than parents who have children without SEND—a sad consequence of a system that is failing them.
Chris Bloore (Redditch) (Lab)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate, and thank you, Sir Mark, for your chairmanship. I also thank the parents that my hon. Friend has brought along in support. I have the same situation in my constituency of Redditch in Worcestershire, and if it was not for the parents dotted around the country who fight for their children or grandchildren, we would not have such energy in the new Parliament to fight for the proper solutions for SEND. My hon. Friend talked about trust and the broken system; does he agree that it is essential, if we are to rebuild a system that is fit for purpose, to rebuild trust between local authorities and parents and grandparents, so that co-production can truly start again?
Luke Murphy
I completely agree with my hon. Friend: crucial to fixing the system will be rebuilding trust between parents, national Government and local authorities. There is much work to do, but I think yesterday’s Budget showed that this Government are making a downpayment on that commitment—and there will be more to come. As my hon. Friend mentioned, the lack of adequate support has lasting impacts on families. Many parents have had to reduce their work hours or even leave employment entirely to care for their children when the local authority fails to provide adequate support. I know, from hearing families’ stories, that many are reaching breaking point, and parents are exhausted from the constant battle against the system.
Hampshire county council, like many others, has been coping with a system in freefall. The number of EHC plans in Hampshire has nearly doubled, from just over 8,000 in 2019 to around 16,000 this year. Hampshire’s cumulative deficit for the dedicated schools grant is now at £86.1 million, representing 9.4% of its total dedicated schools grant income. To put that in perspective, for every £100 that Hampshire receives for schools and SEND provision, it has accumulated nearly £9.40 in debt. That deficit is expected to reach £250 million by 2025-26 if nothing changes. Hampshire also currently spends £47.2 million annually on independent school placements, due to the lack of available spaces in state-funded options, underscoring the urgent need for expanded state provision and the need to support mainstream settings in providing essential SEND support.
I am particularly concerned about the exploration of the statutory override in 2026, which currently allows the education deficits to be kept off councils’ balance sheets. When the override ends, councils like Hampshire could face financial insolvency, forcing them to declare a section 114 notice and request Government intervention. The situation is clearly untenable, and serious reforms are urgently needed, but this crisis is not just about budgets or statistics; it is about real lives and families.
Eleanor, a mother in my constituency, told me about her son. When he turned two, she sent him to the local nursery to be with his older sister, but there it quickly became clear that his development was delayed. On multiple occasions, Eleanor would go to pick him up and find him playing alone in the toilets unsupervised. Quite understandably, that is not what she wanted for her son, but without sufficient support from early years education, and because he could not talk, he was left to blend into the background and slip through the cracks. Eleanor describes the process of fighting for SEND provision as “just terrible”—a constant battle with the local authority in a system that she describes as completely broken.
Another parent, Kelly, shared her story with me. After multiple appointments where she raised concerns about her son’s development, she was told that he was simply the “lazy twin”. But Kelly did not give up. She described how, without clear guidance and support, parents go into the SEND system “blindfolded”, feeling their way through a complex maze that should be straightforward. Jodie, another mother from Basingstoke, told me that
“the only support you get consistently through the whole SEND journey is from other parents who are going through the same thing.”
It is a sad reflection of the system when parents find that their only reliable support is each other.
My hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Alex Baker), who wanted to be here today, has heard similar experiences of a lack of suitable school places leaving parents with no option but home schooling for their children. That puts unacceptable pressure on parents, resulting in mental health issues and self-harm, while children miss out on vital opportunities to develop wider life and social skills
A parent in my constituency described the impact of finally receiving specialist provision for her daughter as having a “halo effect”. It brought a sense of normalcy and confidence back to her daughter’s life, sparking interests outside the classroom, but that positive impact should not just be the rare exception; it should be the standard experience for every family navigating the SEND system.
When I committed to a manifesto focused on building a truly inclusive, responsive and supportive education system, it was not just a pledge; it was a mission. Every child deserves an education system that meets their needs, especially those children with special educational needs and disabilities.
I am encouraged by the Government’s actions in taking the first steps towards real change. Yesterday’s Budget marked a significant commitment from the Chancellor, with a £1 billion increase in SEND and alternative provision funding. That is a 6% real-terms boost. The funding is a critical step towards improving outcomes for children and families, and guiding our SEND system towards much-needed financial stability, fixing the foundations to ensure that every child in England can achieve and thrive regardless of their background.
The children’s wellbeing Bill, which was announced in the King’s Speech, will mandate schools to collaborate with local authorities to improve SEND inclusion. That is a foundational step. Our commitment to expand early years support by investing in SEND-specific teacher training and establishing a framework for early intervention, such as the Nuffield early language intervention, is all part of a larger strategy to prevent children as soon as possible from slipping through the cracks. The Government have also said that they will ensure accountability in mainstream settings through bodies like Ofsted to guarantee that every school is equipped to meet the needs of students with SEND. More widely, the Government have committed to recruiting 6,500 new teachers to reduce class sizes, which I hope will also allow for more inclusive classrooms.
This crisis has stretched on for far too long and we must work on a cross-party basis to address it before the situation becomes truly unsalvageable. Every child, regardless of whether they have SEND or not, should have the support in place so that they can thrive in school and beyond.
Today, with the Kids parent committee from Basingstoke and the Minister both present in Westminster Hall, I want to amplify a clear message from families in my constituency: we need greater training and support for mainstream early years staff in SEND, because early intervention is crucial. By equipping early years staff with the skills to recognise and support children with additional needs, we can ensure that children receive timely help, giving both parents and children a solid foundation. I fully support that goal and will work alongside others to make it a reality.
In yesterday’s Budget, the Chancellor announced an additional £1.8 billion to expand Government-funded childcare and allocated £69 million to grow the network of family hubs. This funding represents a chance to provide essential support and early intervention for SEND families across the country.
I hope that this debate shines a light on the reality of SEND provision for families, not only in Hampshire but across the country. Today I urge the Minister and colleagues from all parties urgently to support a reformed SEND system that lifts up our young people and their families.
The Government have rightly committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity for all, which must include children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We know that there is no magic wand that can fix this broken system overnight, but I urge the Minister to collaborate with her colleagues across Government to urgently reform the SEND system, so that we can restore faith in SEND provision, and I am hopeful that this Government will lead the way in creating a system that truly works for every young person, every family and every community. As Michelle put it:
“It shouldn’t be this hard, and it doesn’t need to be this hard.”
Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)
I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in this debate.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Mark. As the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) and I were walking down to Westminster Hall, I asked if he would be speaking and he said he was. I know that the debate is about Hampshire, but I always want to come along to support hon. Members who are bringing forward critical issues. I also want to add comments from a Northern Ireland perspective.
I am pleased to see the Minister in her place; I always look forward to meeting her and I know she clearly understands the issues that the hon. Member presented. I want to support him and his parents group, which has come here today. On the way here, he mentioned that those parents are the reason he secured the debate, and parents should be in everything that we do. These things are about our constituents and about what we can do to help them and give their perspective.
I spoke on this issue just last week; indeed, like almost everyone here, I have spoken in every debate on SEND education since we came back after the election. As I said, I want to give a Northern Ireland perspective, if I may.
I welcome the Budget, which allocated extra money to the SEND education system, as the hon. Member mentioned. I am always hopeful that some of that allocation will come our way through the Barnett consequential, which results in us gaining from investment here on the mainland.
Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)
Order. The debate pertains to Hampshire. Although you raise issues that are common, the subject is aimed in the direction of Hampshire. Can you please make the main points and try not to veer off the subject in terms of specifics in your own part of the UK?
Jim Shannon
I will make sure that whenever I mention Northern Ireland, I mention Hampshire as well. That will hopefully keep the perspective right, because what the hon. Member said happens in Hampshire happens in my constituency as well. I want to illustrate that and make some suggestions on how we can provide better help in the system. What we do back home in Northern Ireland can help those in Hampshire with how they move forward.
We have a clear teacher funding issue, especially in the SEND sector. One of my questions to the Minister, which I hope will be helpful for the hon. Member for Basingstoke and for the wider debate, is this: what has been done to ensure that there are more adequately trained people to respond to this issue?
I also speak in this debate because this matter is personal for me. I have six grandchildren, and three of them unfortunately have some difficulties with autism, learning and speech issues. I will not mention their names, because it would not be appropriate, but that is why this is personal.
Whenever I come here to make a contribution, it is clear to me what I am asking for: for the same things that have already been done back home. I will give a couple of examples of how things have happened and, by doing so, show what has made the situation better. I know that the hon. Member has referred to that.
A teaching assistant back home told me that she did a level 3 qualification on specialist support for teaching and learning in schools. If she lived here in England, she would fully qualify as a substitute teacher; in Northern Ireland, further training is necessary. That is an example for us back home. With the same system here, someone qualifies, but with the system back home, they do not. That clearly highlights the issue.
Across Northern Ireland—the hon. Member’s contribution has convinced me that this is similar to what is happening in Basingstoke and Hampshire—we have autism assessments, and some 66,000 pupils have some form of SEND. That is 20% of the population—the figures are similar to what the hon. Member referred to. Children fight for a diagnosis from the day they enter school, but unfortunately there are detrimental educational psychology delays, which coincide with delays in our health service. Even though we are focusing on SEND and education, will the Minister, when she responds, consider that there must also be a tight relationship between education and health? That is important and I hope she will respond in a positive fashion.
As I said, this issue is a personal one: three of my six grandchildren unfortunately have autism and speech therapy needs. I want to give an example of what has happened. I have mentioned diagnosis; get the diagnosis done early and we can change the child’s life—wow! I will give an example that is personal, because it happened in our family. One of the grandchildren—one of the boys—was quite boisterous and seemed to have difficulty expressing himself. Unfortunately, the result was that when he was at nursery and early school, he was hitting out at other children and became quite a difficult child. It was nobody’s fault; it was just that he was not able to express himself in the way he wished to.
We got the early diagnosis, and with the early diagnosis came the speech therapy, and with the speech therapy came an absolute change in that wee boy. When we were going to my son’s house for Christmas, I said to my wife, “Sandra, there’ll be some goings-on the day, when we get there,” and she said, “You’ll see a difference.” I had not seen my grandson for a while, and what a difference there was in that wee boy because he had got the diagnosis and the speech therapy—you could not have kept him quiet. What a change in that wee fella because the system had worked and helped him.
I give that as an example of what can happen if we have the right strategy and the right way forward. The opposite is now true of the wee boy: he never keeps quiet. It is lovely to have a wee boy in the corner who is so boisterous and alive and so respectful—we heard so many pleases and thank yous. There can be such a difference as a result of the system when it works. We now have two others coming through, and the provision of an early diagnosis has to be the same for them. The hon. Member for Basingstoke has asked for that, and I am sure the Minister will respond.
Another example is about how education can help. This is an example to help the Minister, because I think the great advantage of these debates is that we can give examples of where things have been going the right way and thereby exchange ideas on ways forward and how we can do things better. Movilla high school in my constituency increased its enrolment from 401 to 600, because the education authority enabled it to extend the special provision for pupils with autism to include 10 and 11-year-olds, and it has established what are called nurture classes. It is not a novel idea, but it is a good idea in terms of helping to move forward education and mainstream education in particular.
Those are just two of the points I want to raise: early diagnosis and the nurture classes that we have in my constituency of Strangford. I do not know what the reason is, but in the last number of years—the last 10 to 15, in particular—I have certainly seen more children there who have difficulties with autism and other issues. More should be done to create specialist nurture units within mainstream schools and to support specialist training for teachers of all ages. There must be the capacity for us to do our best for pupils who require additional support; they should not have to suffer because of a funding crisis.
I look forward very much to hearing the Minister’s thoughts and those of the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild). Around this room, we have people with incredible knowledge, and I look forward to all their contributions. I hope the Minister can undertake further discussion with the devolved nations on this matter. I said earlier—I mean it, and it is true of any debate I come to—that there are always lessons that can be learned regionally, and we can then share them in this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There is that benefit that comes from regional knowledge, which may be specific, but which can help us all to do things better. With that, I commend the hon. Member for Basingstoke for bringing the debate forward. I hope my contribution kept exactly to the line that you asked me to keep to, Sir Mark. Thank you so much.
Darren Paffey (Southampton Itchen) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Mark. I am still learning about these things, but I believe I may need to refer to my interest as a member of the Education Committee.
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy)—my childhood home—for securing this important debate for our county. I fully recognise the picture that he so comprehensively and eloquently set out. As a former council cabinet member for education in Southampton and a proud dad to an amazing SEND child, both my professional and personal experience move me to take part today. I am grateful for the opportunity to do so representing the people of Southampton Itchen— I did move further south in the county a few years ago.
The debate could not have come at a better time. Not only is the need for SEND reform at its greatest after being overlooked by the Conservative Government for 14 years, but the debate follows the announcement of £1 billion of extra SEND funding in yesterday’s Budget, as my hon. Friend mentioned. I do not intend to repeat the points he made, but I will take this opportunity to share three reflections from my experience that hopefully contribute to a way forward for SEND children and their families in Southampton and across the county.
I will start by saying as clearly as I can that inclusion in mainstream schools is the right approach for many. However, the metrics around schools must change. I can tell Members what inclusion is not: it is not just putting a child with SEND in a mainstream classroom and then, “Job done!” It is not just a box to tick or a target to meet; it is a fundamental shift in how we think about education—not only how we define school success but, far more importantly, each child having the opportunities they deserve opened up to them.
Our current metrics of attainment 8 and progress 8 often fall short in recognising a school’s full achievements. In Southampton Itchen, and I am sure in other parts of the county, we have seen promising improvements in school performance, and schools are making remarkable strides towards inclusivity, but the performance metrics often do not reflect that. Teachers are working incredibly hard to meet the needs of students with special educational needs and disabilities, tailoring their classroom approach to ensure that those students are not left behind in their learning journey. Yet those efforts—that dedication, adaptability and commitment to inclusivity of our teaching staff—are somehow not considered a measure of a school’s success. I want to argue that they absolutely are and should be.
In our very welcome Ofsted reforms, will the Minister consider how we might ensure that not just statistics, but inclusive practices that open up opportunities for SEND children, count towards the new report cards? In that way, we can expand measures from just academic achievement to educational practice that makes a difference to whether SEND children have the opportunity they need and deserve.
My second point is on the National Audit Office report mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke. Some 1.7 million young people are identified as having special educational needs and disabilities in UK schools, but the report notes that there have been no consistent improvements since 2019 in outcomes for those children and young people. That is a huge swathe of our children—our future—that cannot, should not and must not be left behind.
In Southampton Itchen, the rate of growth in the number of children with SEND is outpacing the national average. Dealing with that increased need inclusively in mainstream schools relies on adequate teacher training and teachers’ preparedness for future trends. Yet the current national standards require teacher trainees to spend just one day of their placement in a SEND setting. Contrast that with what they face in the mainstream classroom, where one in five school pupils in England has identified special needs. There needs to be much more attention to the needs of those children and much more preparation in teachers’ professional development.
The professional evidence is that when we get the inclusive approach right, the benefit is felt not just in the outcomes for SEND children, but by all children. Will the Minister consider revising the initial teacher training framework so that all new teachers coming to Hampshire and other parts of the country will have received training on how they can best support, draw out the best in, and provide the greatest strides forward for those who will be in their care in the classroom? We must ensure that teachers’ needs for comprehensive training and support are met to empower them to meet pupils’ needs.
Finally, no discussion of the issue can avoid money completely. Resourcing has been a key issue in recent years. In particular, independent SEND provision is growing. While we recognise that those places are needed, it means that councils are at the mercy of market prices set by market providers. No one in their right mind would deny those children the provision they need, but it puts a significant strain on council budgets dedicated to SEND children. Yesterday’s announcement of £1 billion in extra funding is a welcome and much-needed step but, if we are to make the most of the investment, we need to ensure that it supports state-funded special schools and mainstream schools with inclusive practices, so that every child can make the strides they need and deserve, and gets the support that they are due.
We are not just talking about more money. Schools in my constituency tell me that they need certainty about what will happen with the proposed national funding formula and top-ups. Can the Minister give a timeline of when we can expect that certainty to come? Can she also confirm what will happen to the statutory override for the dedicated schools grant?
We must get this right if the Labour Government are to achieve our mission of breaking down the barriers to education and opportunity that too many SEND children face. I am aware of the scale of the challenge, and no one is more aware of it than the families in the Public Gallery today. It is my belief that the Government will deliver the long overdue changes for families here and in my constituency seeking support for their children with SEND.
Alex Brewer (North East Hampshire) (LD)
I thank the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) for securing this debate and it is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Mark. In North East Hampshire, as in many other places, special educational needs and disabilities come up repeatedly in casework, constituency surgeries and local council meetings. The system, frankly, is broken. I welcome the calls from the hon. Member for Basingstoke to work across parties on a solution.
Children are frequently not getting the support that they need, schools do not have the funding for further provisions, and Hampshire county council is running at an £86-million deficit trying to meet the need. As a result, children and their families suffer, despite the hard work of headteachers, teachers, teaching assistants and parents. I have met constituents to talk about these challenges, as well as meeting charities that support families in the local area and local councillors to talk through the concerns. I pay tribute to all those who support our children with additional needs, despite the complexity of the system as it stands.
Raising a child with additional needs is hard. We cannot deny that there is an additional parenting burden, although parents, of course, bear it willingly. There is also an additional administrative burden, and council budgets are squeezed so hard that they cannot meet that need.
The number of parents who have to make appeals for SEND support has more than trebled since 2014. When provision is scarce and parents have to fight for it, it becomes an exhausting battle just to have their child’s needs met. The increasingly cited narrative—that pushy parents are just trying to get a bit of extra help for their child—is utterly nonsensical given how much work it is to ensure even the most basic provision.
North East Hampshire is a beautiful place to live, but as a largely rural area with many small villages, hundreds of children have to travel a long way to their nearest school. Those families who live a long way from their nearest suitable provision have to deal not only with the stresses of the system, exclusion, lack of academic progression, high levels of anxiety and the opaqueness of the process, but with transport. Due to the severe lack of public transport, they often have to take private taxis.
According to the Department for Education, the net planned expenditure on SEND transport in Hampshire for the ’24-25 financial year is £56,795,000, yet I hear time and again from my constituents about the failure to secure transport in time for the start of the school year. The lack of a secure transport route can have a huge impact on a child’s relationship with school and their real and perceived safety. It also increases the pressure on working parents, who frequently must leave work or reduce their hours due to the lack of accommodation for their child’s needs. The result? A postcode lottery in access to support.
One of my constituents had SEND transport approved in June. We are now on the last day of October and they have not received any further information—two months of the school year have been missed. That is not good enough, and the situation is not unique in my constituency. Another child in North East Hampshire has been told to use a bus stop a mile away from her home, but because of her disability, she and her parents are understandably anxious about the safety of this journey each morning, given the challenges and dangers she faces when crossing roads.
Prior to being elected this year, I was the chief executive of a charity that supports children and young people with Down’s syndrome and their families. I saw at first hand what those families must grapple with to secure the right educational support for their child. The charity provides specialist support throughout a child’s education —a service that used to be provided by many county councils across the UK.
Charities are often left to pick up the pieces. I recently met Special Needs Jungle, which analyses the sector, provides recommendations and supports families. The Hampshire Parent Carer Network is also a helpful source of support and information. But these organisations cannot find additional services out of thin air.
In the Budget yesterday, the Chancellor stated that she wants
“to improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children”,—[Official Report, 30 October 2024; Vol. 755, c. 822.]
but she also announced that VAT will be charged on private schools. That is highly concerning for North East Hampshire: we have at least four independent schools, each of which has explicit provision for SEND pupils, and our state schools not only are full but are telling us clearly that they cannot meet the needs of many children with additional needs under the current funding models. There is a budgetary disincentive to including children with additional needs in mainstream schools, which the Liberal Democrats have said we would halve.
The announcement of a £1-billion funding uplift for SEND in the Budget yesterday was welcome, but we must go further to clean up this mess. The system needs a complete overhaul, not just an increase in funding. We must undo the damage inflicted on our wider education system by the previous Conservative Government. We must ensure that early help is restored so that children develop the tools to navigate the school system as early in their lives as possible. We must rebuild play into our early years programme and dispense with testing at age five. We must build outdoor learning into our core curriculum and much more besides.
One school in my constituency is building a new room. It is not for teaching and it is not a classroom; it is a welcome room where children who are refusing to go to school can come and feel safe, secure and welcome. It is a bridge between school refusal and school acceptance. It is a great idea, but it should not be needed.
SEND provision must be flexible, tailored and suitable for all communities, both urban and rural. Most of all, it must be available, and that includes the transport required to get to the school gate. I close with a sentiment from an assistant headteacher in North East Hampshire, who said:
“Parents and families shouldn’t have to fight against systems that are meant to be helping their children.”
James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship again, Sir Mark. I congratulate the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) on securing his first Westminster Hall debate on such an important topic for children and parents in Hampshire—it is good to see a number of them in the Gallery listening to the debate. This is the third debate on SEND that I have taken part in since the election, which reflects the importance of the issue to hon. Members in Hampshire and across the whole county, including in Northern Ireland, who all see the challenges and demands facing the sector.
Those problems are familiar to us all. As has been mentioned, last week’s National Audit Office report into support for children and young people with special education needs highlighted the 140% increase in the number of children with education, health and care plans since 2015, and there has been a 93% increase in Hampshire since 2019 alone. Overall, half of those EHC plans are not delivered within the 20-week timeframe, although, in Hampshire, around three quarters are issued on time, a timeframe that my own county of Norfolk aspires to. The NAO also recognised the significant increase in high-needs funding to £10.7 billion put in place by the last Government, but demand continues to grow and there are still big deficits in local authorities that need to be addressed.
That report highlighted the need for whole-system reform; an integrated approach to improve outcomes, which has rightly been mentioned; and the financial sustainability of funding. It also recommended research to understand the root causes driving the increase in SEND and in the demand for EHC plans. I know that the Department is funding some work—I think through the University of Newcastle, and others—to look into those issues, and that there is action to put the budgets of local authorities on a sustainable footing.
I was a member of the Public Accounts Committee a few years ago when another NAO report looked at the SEND system and identified similar problems. The report that we as a Committee put forward helped to inform the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan that the last Government came forward with. We all recognise and accept that the system needs to be reformed; it is not working at the moment.
First, we need a national framework and standards to address the inconsistent support across the country. The previous Government’s plan set out a blueprint for a unified system for SEND and AP that would be driven by new national standards. The first area that we were going to bring forward was around speech and language therapy, and, in a recent written answer to me, the Minister confirmed that the Government are still considering doing that, which we welcome. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) referred to the powerful impact that early diagnosis and access to speech and language therapy can have. It is great to hear such stories, and they should be told far more often.
We also need to improve the EHCP process because, as the constituent of the hon. Member for Basingstoke said, it shouldn’t be this hard. As constituency MPs, we see the families who have had to battle. We help them to get through the system, but they should not have to come to us. Our plan also committed to improving the timeliness of those plans through a standardised and digitised approach. I would like to hear from the Minister whether the Government will proceed with those proposals as well.
The second area where we need reform—again, there is a lot of consensus—is around building capacity and expertise in mainstream schools, with a focus on early help. As I said in the Chamber last week during an urgent question, we wholeheartedly support the focus on inclusivity. That means improving skills and training in the SEND workforce, with a particular emphasis on early intervention, and sharing the real expertise in specialist schools with those working in mainstream settings. I have mentioned in previous debates that I have been to specialist schools where the teachers are desperate to get into mainstream schools and talk about the activities and expertise they have to support children with those needs in mainstream settings.
Some people clearly do need specialist school support, however, and I understand that Hampshire has been expanding such provision with three new schools, including one that I think was approved shortly before the election. I hope that the Minister will confirm that that school is not part of the review of free schools, but will be proceeding and will be funded.
Hampshire, like my own county of Norfolk, is one of the counties that spends a huge amount of money on transporting children to schools with specialist provision. The hon. Member for Basingstoke referred to the impact on children of being stuck in taxis or buses, and travelling long distances for learning. The hon. Member for North East Hampshire (Alex Brewer) also talked about the impact on parents and their ability to work—and, importantly, on the safety of children, who have to get to bus stops far from their homes.
The third area on which we need to focus is partnerships between education and health groups; we need to ensure that they are working together to lead the change. The NAO said the current system has
“misaligned incentives, accountabilities and priorities across the system”.
That creates challenges in a whole-system approach. Collaboration between key partners is important, and the last Government proposed measures for SEND and AP partnerships. We look forward to proposals in the children’s wellbeing Bill that look to achieve the same outcome.
We all want to see a bit more leg from the Government about their plan for reform and inclusivity. We know that the SEND team in the Department has been moved into the schools unit to help bring greater focus. That sounds perfectly sensible. In yesterday’s Budget, as has been referred to, there was also an additional £1 billion for SEND and AP funding.
Additional funding for SEND is needed and welcome, but I suspect that hon. Members and families listening to the Budget would expect that to be used to provide additional support to their children and the inclusive practices to which the hon. Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) referred. Can the Minister confirm, however, that the Government actually expect £865 million of the £1 billion to be used by local authorities to reduce their deficits in SEND? Clearly, financial sustainability and addressing deficits—including the statutory override, which a number of Members mentioned and which I have referred to in every other debate we have had on the subject—is important, but we should be clear about where the extra £1 billion of funding is going and what we are going to see on the ground as a result.
Beyond funding, the Minister has regularly said that we need significant change, but despite last week’s urgent question, we are still lacking clarity on what that change looks like, although one thing that the Minister did say in response was that the Government would be looking at
“any legislation that needs to be amended or brought in to achieve our vision for an inclusive mainstream education”.—[Official Report, 24 October 2024; Vol. 755, c. 419.]
Can the Minister confirm that she was referring to the Children and Families Act 2014, which established EHCPs, and what is her timeframe for potentially reviewing that legislation? Is her intention that the number of EHCPs required will be reduced, and will she consult widely before implementing any such changes?
In yesterday’s Budget, the Government put up taxes by £42 billion, but one area where they were actually honest with the electorate that they would put up taxes was the 20% education tax. We now have the Office for Budget Responsibility assessment, which says that up to 37,000 pupils will leave or not enter the independent schools sector as a result of the new tax; and many of them may be in independent schools that offer specialist support for children.
More than 100,000 children in specialist schools do not have an EHCP. Those are children whose parents have decided that that is the best place for their child to be educated. However, in response to the technical consultation, the Government have refused to exempt them from the new tax, as they believe that there must be a formal independent assessment that a child’s needs cannot be met in the state sector. I repeat a question that I have asked before, because I do not think I have had an answer: how many extra EHCP applications do the Government expect local authorities will have to assess?
Since the election, the Minister has said that the Labour Government are absolutely committed to fixing the SEND system. I know that she means that, and the Opposition want to work with her to achieve that. Every hon. Member wants to ensure that families get the support that their child deserves to realise their potential, so our offer is: let us work together to improve outcomes and give children the best start.
The Minister for School Standards (Catherine McKinnell)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Mark. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) on securing a debate on this incredibly important subject. I know that he, like every Member here, has been supporting families in his constituency to navigate the SEND system. He has raised this issue in the main Chamber regularly, particularly during oral questions. In his opening speech, he spoke incredibly passionately on behalf of his constituents, and I am sure that it will be a huge comfort to them to have their voices heard in such a powerful way in this Chamber.
Improving the special educational needs and disability system across the country is a priority for this Government. We want all children, regardless of where they are in the country, to get the right support to succeed in their education and lead happy, healthy and productive adult lives. Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve and thrive, but far from every child is getting that chance and, for far too long, families have been let down by a system that is not working. As my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke highlighted, a National Audit Office report last week echoed that, finding: a system that has totally lost the confidence of families; that children with special educational needs and disabilities are being failed on every measure; and that, despite the high-needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities rising to higher and higher levels, the whole system is not delivering and is clearly in need of reform.
I want to give a sense of light at the end of the tunnel. Our promise to families is that we are completely committed to improving the SEND system and rebuilding the confidence that the education system will provide for every child. I know that there are families in the Gallery today, and I am glad that they are here to hear this message. Last week, we published independently commissioned insights showing that if the system was extensively improved, using early intervention and better resourcing in the mainstream schools, it could lead to tens of thousands more children and young people having their needs met without an EHCP and in a mainstream setting, rather than in a specialist placement.
To do that, we need to urgently improve the inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools while ensuring that there are special schools that can cater to those with the most complex needs. As my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) said, this requires a holistic approach to reform: getting more teachers into our schools; creating a voice for support staff, who we know are so crucial in supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities, through the school support staff negotiating body that we will bring forward in legislation; and improving training for support staff, teachers and leaders to ensure that we have a curriculum and assessment system that truly serves every child and enables them to thrive, with a broad curriculum that gives them the opportunity to have a rich education that taps into their skills and talents.
Of course, we also need to look at Ofsted and how it is motivating the school system to be as inclusive as possible. We want to see all schools co-operating with their local authorities on admissions, strengthening the accountability of the mainstream system to be more inclusive through Ofsted and supporting the mainstream workforce to have that SEND expertise.
We want to see early intervention and identification improved and supported, which is why—as the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild), said—we have announced that the ongoing funded support for schools registered with the Nuffield early language intervention programme will continue. It is so important that children get speech and language intervention support at the earliest stage possible, so that they can find their voice and we can identify challenges at the earliest stage possible.
As hon. Members have highlighted, improving the SEND system is vital to fulfilling our opportunity mission to break the unfair link between background and opportunity, and that starts with giving every child with SEND, along with all children in our system, the best start in life. But this is huge, complex reform: there is no magic wand or quick fix, and the Government cannot do it alone. That is why we will work with the sector. It is essential that we work with valued partners to ensure that the approach is planned and delivered together with parents, schools, councils and expert staff, who we know already go above and beyond to support children. We ask for patience, but we will work as fast as we can to make the changes that we know families are crying out for.
Following the Budget announcement yesterday, high-needs funding will increase by almost £1 billion in 2025-26 compared with 2024-25, which brings the total high-needs funding to £11.9 billion. The funding includes £90 million to increase the high-needs element of the 2024-25 core schools budget grant to the full-year equivalent, which will be incorporated with the other teachers’ pay and pension grants for 2025-26 to make sure that they are fully funded.
We are now in the process of calculating the high-needs national funding formula, which will provide local authorities with their indicative allocations for 2025-26. We expect to publish that by the end of November. The structure of the high-needs national funding formula remains largely unchanged in 2025-26 because we want to take time to consider what changes are needed to make sure that we establish a fair education funding system that directs funding to where it is needed and to support the special educational needs and disability reforms that we want to take forward. That will take time, so we ask for patience.
My hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen asked specifically about the statutory override. We recognise the unprecedented pressures that local authorities find themselves under. We are providing almost £1 billion more for high-needs budgets in 2025-26, as I mentioned. The impact on individual local authorities’ deficits will be variable, and the statutory override is a temporary accounting measure that separates local authorities’ dedicated schools grant deficits from their wider financial position so that they can manage their deficits.
It remains important that every local authority continues to look at what it can do within the current system to manage its high-needs budget while continuing to provide the support that children with special educational needs and disabilities need. We are working to consider how we can help councils manage the impact of the dedicated schools grant deficits on their accounts within a SEND system that is in desperate need of longer-term reform.
With reference to Hampshire specifically, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission jointly inspect local area SEND provision to ensure that there is a joined-up approach for children and young people. The inspections enable the Department to intervene in cases of significant concern and to work with local areas and professional advisers to try to address weaknesses that have been identified.
The last joint local area SEND inspection in Hampshire took place in March 2020. Inspectors visited a range of providers and spoke to leaders, staff and governors to determine strengths and weaknesses in the local area’s SEND provision. The inspection found that leaders in Hampshire at the time were highly ambitious for children and young people with SEND, and although the inspection did identify areas for improvement, it did not identify areas of significant weakness. Since that inspection, the Department for Education and NHS England have stayed in regular contact with Hampshire local special educational needs and disabilities officials to discuss the local area’s strategic direction and to offer support where needed.
As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) rightly pointed out in his characteristically constructive contribution, there is a significant need for the Department for Education and Department of Health to work closely together at a local level on this issue. Hampshire will be inspected under the new area SEND inspections framework, which came into effect in 2023, in due course
Jim Shannon
The Minister has very kindly given us some hope about the way forward. I should have mentioned the Department for Work and Pensions earlier. It is important that parents are aware of all the help in the system—for instance, there is disability living allowance. Whenever somebody comes to me with a child who has experienced educational issues, I always ask them, “Are you aware that there is a system set up to help you?” Is that something we should emphasise a wee bit more strongly?
Catherine McKinnell
The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. That should happen at the earliest possible point, because we know—I have mentioned this already—that children’s earliest years make the biggest difference to their life chances, and high-quality early years education can lead to much better outcomes for all children. Arrangements are in place to support early years providers and access to early education, including disability access funding and special educational needs inclusion funding, but he is absolutely right to highlight the ways in which we can help children and families to access support. If we do that at the earliest possible stage in a child’s life, we will be able to improve children’s outcomes and families’ experiences.
We want more children and young people to receive the support that they need to thrive in their local mainstream setting, which reduces the need for them to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are going above and beyond to deliver specialist provision locally through resourced provision and special educational needs units.
We know that there will always be a place in the system for special schools and colleges for children and young people with the most complex needs, so the Department supports local authorities to provide those places for children and young people through annual high-needs capital funding, which can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools as well as in other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings, and we will set out plans for future high-needs capital funding in due course. The Government are committed to working with councils, school leaders and other sector partners nationally and in Hampshire to develop and improve inclusive education in the mainstream setting.
The hon. Member for North East Hampshire (Alex Brewer) raised concerns about transport. No child should struggle to get to school because of a lack of transport. Local authorities are obliged to arrange free travel for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there because of the distance; because of a special educational need, disability or mobility problem; or because the route is not safe. There are additional rights to free travel for low-income households to help them exercise school choice, but we know how challenging home-to-school travel is for local authorities at the moment, in large part due to the pressures on the SEND system.
In our manifesto, we committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, which will mean that fewer children have to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs. It will also reduce the pressure on home-to-school travel. I am keen to understand how well the school travel policy is working to support children to access educational opportunities, and I will continue to work with officials in the Department and across Government to improve the situation, because transport is a cross-Government challenge.
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke again for bringing this matter forward and I thank all hon. Members who have contributed to the debate. We all care passionately about SEND outcomes in Hampshire and across the country.
Jim Shannon
I thank the Minister for her comprehensive and helpful response. In my contribution, I referred to “nurture” classes in a school in my constituency, which bring together and look after children with educational challenges in a big school. That is in the education system in Northern Ireland, of course, but I know the Minister always makes contact with the Education Authority there. As I said earlier, different regions have ideas that may be helpful elsewhere, so will the Minister consider that?
Catherine McKinnell
I thank the hon. Gentleman and I will take that away, because we are open to examples of good practice and ideas for reform that can be rolled out and used in other settings. We do not want the SEND system to work only in pockets; it must work everywhere and we must have a reformed system across the board.
Catherine McKinnell
I am glad that my hon. Friend has intervened, because it reminds me that I have still not answered a couple of his questions—I will come to them.
Luke Murphy
The Minister talked eloquently about how the Government intend to work with councils, providers and others on the reform of the system. How can parents like those I represent in Basingstoke and those represented by other hon. Members present inform and provide input into the future review and reform? Their experience and expertise would be incredibly useful.
Catherine McKinnell
My hon. Friend makes an important point, which the hon. Member for North West Norfolk also made. We are clear that the Government cannot deliver this work alone; it must be delivered with partners who are serving children in the community and in partnership with the families who we know are crying out for change. We are keen to consult and engage, and that must be done on as localised a basis as possible to get a real sense of the challenges in different areas. There are many common themes across the country, but there will be issues in particular areas that need to be addressed. I will take that point away and consider it.
Regarding the questions about education, health and care plans, figures released by the Department in September clearly show that children with special educational needs and disabilities are not having their needs addressed and are waiting far too long for action from a system that is currently creaking at the seams. Without further improvements, it is clear that it will just deteriorate further because a growing number of families need support. We know that local authorities have been affected by an increased demand for education, health and care plans, and that their workforce capacity to meet the demand has also been affected. A more efficient and effective service delivery, alongside communication with schools and families, is therefore central to improving the situation.
From this year, we are investing £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists to support workforce capacity in local authority services, including for the delivery of statutory assessments. We will work as quickly as possible to ensure that there is more effective early identification, because, as I have already said, it is important to provide training to early educators so that we can identify the challenges that a child might face early in their life.
We will continue to monitor and work closely with any local authorities that have issues with their education, health and care plan timelines. Where we have concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make improvements, we will work with it to identify the barriers and to put in place effective recovery plans, which includes securing specialist SEND adviser support to help to identify the barriers to ECHP process timeliness and put in place plans for recovery.
There were questions about private schools and the VAT change. Private schools can provide choice, high-quality education, economic benefit and public benefit through partnerships, but most parents cannot choose private schools. We need to improve the provision for the 93% of pupils who are at state-funded schools—that is our focus. Parents who use private schools can pay to support that process by paying the VAT that would apply to other optional services. Ending the tax breaks that private schools currently enjoy will raise revenue to improve public services, including through the provision of 6,500 new teachers in our state-funded schools. Children whose place at a private school has been commissioned by a local authority—for example, under an education, health and care plan—will not be affected by the VAT change.
I absolutely acknowledge the hardship that too many families face when they try to secure the right support for their child with special educational needs and disabilities. I am determined that the situation will change, so I conclude by thanking all those working across the education, health and care systems in the interests of our children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, both in Hampshire and across the country. We need to deliver the very best for all our children and young people, including children with special educational needs and disabilities, and the Government are determined to do that.
Luke Murphy
I thank all hon. Members who have contributed to the debate and I will conclude by referring to some of their remarks. I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for highlighting the issue around early intervention, which many parents in my constituency have also recognised. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Chris Bloore) for recognising the great campaigning work of the parents who are here in Westminster Hall, and of parents in his constituency and across the country.
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) for highlighting the fundamental shift that is needed in inclusive practices in schools, the issues around teacher training and the fundamental importance of resourcing a reformed system. I thank the hon. Member for North East Hampshire (Alex Brewer) for highlighting an important quote, which echoes the comments of many parents I have spoken to, suggesting that this should not be a fight against the system, but that the system should provide support. I also recognise the transport challenges that she highlighted.
I thank the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild) for recognising many of the issues I highlighted around early intervention training in mainstream schools and transport. Given how devastating the NAO report was, I gently suggest that he should acknowledge that that was a summation of where the system had got to over the last 14 years. None the less, I thank him for his contribution and the nature of the debate, which has been conducted in a cross-party manner. I also thank the Minister for recognising the challenges in the system and for her passion in committing to reforming the system and ensuring it works for parents and children in Basingstoke and across the country.
As other hon. Members have said, this is my first Westminster Hall debate and I thank the Minister and all hon. Members for contributing, as well as the Chair, the House officials and the officials from the Department. I also thank all the teachers and others in the education system in Basingstoke and beyond. I have had lots of conversations with primary and secondary school headteachers in my constituency who have talked about the challenges they face. I know that they struggle every day to do their best to provide opportunities for the kids who attend their schools. We must help them with that and ensure that it is not a struggle for them, the parents or the kids, but is instead a system that works and delivers for them.
Most of all, I thank the families and parents who have raised the issue with me. I look forward to continuing to campaign with them and to working with the Government and hon. Members on both sides of the House to ensure that we build a truly inclusive education system where every child has the opportunity to succeed.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House has considered SEND provision in Hampshire.