Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Obese-Jecty Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

We recognise that schools are working incredibly hard to deliver in their communities. There is a whole range of factors that impact school funding, including their rural or urban nature and pupil numbers; we have discussed declining rolls. We will continue to keep the school funding formula under review. That does take time and it has to be done very carefully to ensure certainty for schools about their funding planning.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

Last year, 565 EHCPs were issued in Cambridgeshire, with fewer than 10% completed within the statutory 20-week deadline. Cambridgeshire county council now ranks as the 10th worst nationally for meeting the timelines on their delivery. With 99% of SEND tribunals finding in favour of the parent, what steps is the Secretary of State taking to improve the process that sees so many applications require a tribunal, and to improve the delivery of EHCPs in Cambridgeshire, assuming they are not going to be scrapped in mainstream schools?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Until that final point, I thought the hon. Gentleman raised some serious concerns, which we have heard this afternoon from many colleagues across the House who need us to bring forward reform to deliver better outcomes for children with SEND. If the Conservative party wants to work with us to do this in a way that delivers a better system for children with SEND, I would be very happy to do so, but at the moment all we seem to get is opposition for opposition’s sake.