Education, Health and Care Plans Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Education
Andy MacNae
Main Page: Andy MacNae (Labour - Rossendale and Darwen)Department Debates - View all Andy MacNae's debates with the Department for Education
Education, Health and Care Plans
Andy MacNae Excerpts(1 day, 14 hours ago)
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Andy MacNae (Rossendale and Darwen) (Lab)
In the interests of time, I will just endorse so many of the comments made today. It is fantastic to see the passion and commitment of so many Members here, as well as the passion and commitment that the Government have shown since day one of our coming into office.
In the interests of time, I will focus down on just one issue. My constituency of Rossendale and Darwen spans two local authority areas: one is the small unitary authority of Blackburn with Darwen, and the other is the shire county of Lancashire. One hundred per cent of my EHCP cases are in Lancashire, which demonstrates a stark and completely unacceptable postcode lottery.
There is no doubt that money is a fundamental issue, but we also have to raise a question about to what extent culture, attitudes and systems matter. Time and time again I hear from families who feel that the whole system is set up to fail and to stop them from getting these plans. As well as addressing those fundamental funding issues, I hope that, as a Government, we will address the cultural, systemic issues by giving our families, in Rossendale and Darwen and in all of our constituencies, the support they desperately need.