Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether there are any changes of circumstances or residency, other than moving to secondary school or college, which could trigger the ‘change of educational phase’ provisions in the EHCP reforms she outlined in February 2026.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether in areas with middle schools, a pupil transitioning to Middle school or from Middle school will count as a change in phase of education for the purposes of the EHCP reforms she outlined in February 2026.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the specialist provision packages mentioned in the SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First consultation on children with complex needs reliant on statutory Education Other Than in School provision.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of currently-projected local authorities’ SEND deficits she expects to be covered from the central government funds when the Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We have set out plans to address local authorities’ high needs-related dedicated schools grant deficits up to the end of 2025/26, providing grants to cover 90% of each council’s deficit. Grants will be paid once councils have produced and received approval for a strong plan to drive sustained and energetic action in accordance with the department’s new system set out in the Schools White Paper, which will begin to improve outcomes for children and bring costs under control through effective early intervention stopping needs from escalating.
For deficits that arise in 2026/27 and 2027/28, local authorities can expect that we will continue to take a proportionate approach to such support, though it will not be unlimited. We will set out more details about our approach in due course.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the OBR’s Economic and fiscal outlook November 2025, page 122, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the absorption of SEND provision into existing RDEL limits from 2028-29 on the Core Schools Budget.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
To deliver these reforms, the department is putting more money into the education system, with £7 billion more being spent on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support compared to 2025/26. The department’s budgets will increase above previously planned funding at Autumn Budget 2025 by £3.5 billion in 2028/29 to support investment in the SEND system. In every year of this parliament, core funding for schools and SEND is expected to increase, subject to future Spending Reviews. As we invest in the system, we will update the SEND Code of Practice and legal requirements for support to be provided in all mainstream education settings from early years to post-16, thereby strengthening the law to make sure children and young people receive the help and support they need.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department's estimate of local authorities’ projected SEND deficits in 2028/29 assumes that 6.8% of pupils will have an EHCP in the academic year 2027/8, 7.3% in academic year 2028/9 and 7.7% in academic year 2029/30.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Office for Budget Responsibility, as the independent authority, publishes estimates of future spend.
From 2028/29, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) spending will be covered by the overall government departmental expenditure limit budget, meaning local authorities are not expected to fund future SEND costs from general funds once the Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027/28.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the total historic SEND deficits accrued in local authorities in England up to the end of (a) 2024/5 and (b) 2025/6; and what estimate she has made of the level of funding that will be required from central government to offset these historic SEND deficits.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We have set out plans to address Dedicated Schools Grant deficits up to the end of 2025/26, providing grants to cover 90% of each council’s deficit as at 31 March 2026, once they have produced and received approval for a strong plan to drive sustained and energetic action. This is in accordance with our new system set out in the Schools White Paper, which will begin to improve outcomes for children and bring costs under control through effective early intervention stopping needs from escalating.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's announcement of 11 February 2026 entitled 10-year plan to revitalise schools and colleges for every child, how many and what proportion of secondary schools do not have an inclusion base, SEN units or pupil support unit.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The number of state-funded secondary schools with resourced provision or special educational needs units, as of January 2025, was 485. This represents 14% of all state-funded secondary schools.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the effect of the changes outlined in the February 2026 white paper to the school funding formula on average per-pupil funding in (a) Hampshire (b) the East Hampshire parliamentary constituency, assuming current pupil characteristics.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The distribution of additional funding for schools in the Inclusive Mainstream Fund for the 2026/27 financial year will be confirmed shortly.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the change in business rates liability for the university sector in 2026/7 relative to 2024/5.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information about business rates, including changes that will come into effect on 1 April 2026, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates.
As universities are independent of government, they are responsible for understanding the potential impact of these changes and ensuring their business models enable them to address emerging risks effectively.
The Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for monitoring the sector’s financial sustainability. The department works closely with the OfS to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape and level of risk.
While the sector is autonomous, this government is committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading sector so it can deliver for students, taxpayers, workers and the economy. Our decision to raise tuition fees annually in line with inflation, alongside refocusing the OfS on monitoring the sector’s financial health, demonstrates this commitment.