Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there is sufficient clinical evidence to justify the use of public money to diagnose someone as neurodiverse.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting MP) announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our new approach to mental health, so people receive the right support, at the right time and in the right place. Likewise, the review will inform our approach so that people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autistic people have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the lessons to be learned from the special educational needs reforms introduced by the government of Wales; and what consideration they have given to introducing similar reforms in England.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department has already consulted with colleagues in the Welsh government on analysis published in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) consultation document comparing rates of special education needs across both nations. The use of data to assess the efficacy of the Welsh SEND reforms introduced in 2021 was not feasible due to variation at school and local authority level.

We will continue to work with the devolved governments as we progress the proposals set out in the SEND consultation document, as well as preparations for future legislation, to ensure that legislative impacts are fully understood and addressed.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 27 January (HL13548), what assessment they have made of the causes of the increase in the (1) proportion, and (2) number, of school children educated in special schools in the past ten years.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Assessments by the Education Select Committee, Public Accounts Committee and National Audit Office highlight common challenges across the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system that mean children and young people do not get the effective early intervention they need and leave parents struggling to secure appropriate support.

As set out in our ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper, the government is seeking to reshape the SEND system to make all mainstream early years settings, schools and colleges truly inclusive. We are also investing billions of pounds to adapt classrooms and corridors, train teachers, educators and assistants, and bring experts like speech and language therapists into settings.

We are consulting on these proposals and will continue to work with a wide range of partners to refine them and deliver them.

The department collects and publishes figures on the number and proportion of pupils in special schools. The number of pupils in special schools (State-funded and non-maintained) has increased from 109,177 in 2015/16 to 169,630 in 2024/25. This is an increase of 60,453. The proportion of pupils in special schools was 1.3% in 2015/16 and 1.9% in 2024/25, an increase of 0.6 percentage points.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 27 January (HL13548), how many special educational needs and disabilities places in schools were provided as a result of mental health, anxiety and depression factors in each of the past five years.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is committed to supporting local areas to create high-quality places that are suitable to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We want more pupils to access the right support in a local mainstream setting, enabling them to learn alongside their peers and siblings, instead of travelling a long way to a special school.

​The department is investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025/2026 and 2029/2030, to support local authorities to provide places for children and young people with SEND, or who require alternative provision.

​Specialist places for pupils with special educational needs are not provided on the basis of specific distinct needs. The department publishes data on the breakdown of pupils by their recorded primary need type and school type on gov.uk although this may not fully reflect the total number of pupils who experience mental health difficulties, anxieties or depression. The department also publishes data on specialist placement capacity on gov.uk since 2023 but this is not broken down by type of need.