Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department maintains records of local authorities that have received multiple Ombudsman findings relating to failures in the delivery of Education, Health and Care Plans, SEND assessments or statutory timescales; and what criteria are used to determine whether additional intervention, monitoring or formal action is required in cases of persistent non-compliance.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) is independent of government and publishes information about complaints and findings relating to local authorities, including matters concerning special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Annual local government complaint reviews can be found on the LGSCO website.

The department considers a range of evidence to ensure local authorities are held to account. This includes Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection outcomes, outcomes for children and young people, and local improvement activity. All local areas are due to receive a full inspection under the current Ofsted / CQC Area SEND inspection framework by the end of 2027.

Decisions on whether additional monitoring, support or intervention are required are taken on a case-by-case basis and informed by the nature of identified concerns. Repeated ombudsman findings may contribute to the wider evidence considered by the department when assessing local authority performance and determining appropriate improvement and intervention activity.

Where serious concerns arise, the department may intervene directly, using statutory powers and improvement partners to support recovery and improve services for children and young people.

In our response to the SEND consultation and throughout the reforms themselves, we will set out how we will make local partnership working more effective and support all partners to drive SEND reforms across all local areas.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what enforcement powers are available to her Department where a local authority is repeatedly found by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to have failed in its statutory duties towards children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities; and how frequently such powers have been used in each of the last five years.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) is independent of government and publishes information about complaints and findings relating to local authorities, including matters concerning special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Annual local government complaint reviews can be found on the LGSCO website.

The department considers a range of evidence to ensure local authorities are held to account. This includes Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection outcomes, outcomes for children and young people, and local improvement activity. All local areas are due to receive a full inspection under the current Ofsted / CQC Area SEND inspection framework by the end of 2027.

Decisions on whether additional monitoring, support or intervention are required are taken on a case-by-case basis and informed by the nature of identified concerns. Repeated ombudsman findings may contribute to the wider evidence considered by the department when assessing local authority performance and determining appropriate improvement and intervention activity.

Where serious concerns arise, the department may intervene directly, using statutory powers and improvement partners to support recovery and improve services for children and young people.

In our response to the SEND consultation and throughout the reforms themselves, we will set out how we will make local partnership working more effective and support all partners to drive SEND reforms across all local areas.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the number and proportion of complaints relating to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) that are escalated to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce the underlying causes of such complaints.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) is independent of government and publishes information about complaints and findings relating to local authorities, including matters concerning special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Annual local government complaint reviews can be found on the LGSCO website.

The department considers a range of evidence to ensure local authorities are held to account. This includes Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection outcomes, outcomes for children and young people, and local improvement activity. All local areas are due to receive a full inspection under the current Ofsted / CQC Area SEND inspection framework by the end of 2027.

Decisions on whether additional monitoring, support or intervention are required are taken on a case-by-case basis and informed by the nature of identified concerns. Repeated ombudsman findings may contribute to the wider evidence considered by the department when assessing local authority performance and determining appropriate improvement and intervention activity.

Where serious concerns arise, the department may intervene directly, using statutory powers and improvement partners to support recovery and improve services for children and young people.

In our response to the SEND consultation and throughout the reforms themselves, we will set out how we will make local partnership working more effective and support all partners to drive SEND reforms across all local areas.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with representatives of SMEs on the potential introduction of incentives to support compliance with the Gatsby Benchmarks for young people with Education, Health and Care Plans.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We want every young person with an education, health and care (EHC) plan to benefit from inclusive careers guidance and meaningful workplace experiences.

We have no plans to introduce specific financial incentives linked directly to the Gatsby Benchmarks. Through the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and careers hubs, we help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participate by providing brokerage, employer networks, guidance, special educational needs and disabilities-focused resources and support to deliver inclusive employer encounters and workplace experiences.

The CEC’s Employer Standards help businesses improve the quality and inclusivity of their education outreach. More than 1,650 employers have completed a self-assessment, and 83% say engagement with schools and colleges helps them develop talent pipelines.

Programmes such as supported internships and Access to Work also help reduce practical and administrative barriers for employers providing opportunities for young people with EHC plans.

We will continue to engage SMEs through the CEC and careers hubs to increase participation and remove barriers for young people with EHC plans.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to SMEs to provide Gatsby Benchmark-aligned careers and workplace opportunities for students with Education, Health and Care Plans, and what steps her Department plans to take to increase employer participation.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We want every young person with an education, health and care (EHC) plan to benefit from inclusive careers guidance and meaningful workplace experiences.

We have no plans to introduce specific financial incentives linked directly to the Gatsby Benchmarks. Through the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and careers hubs, we help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participate by providing brokerage, employer networks, guidance, special educational needs and disabilities-focused resources and support to deliver inclusive employer encounters and workplace experiences.

The CEC’s Employer Standards help businesses improve the quality and inclusivity of their education outreach. More than 1,650 employers have completed a self-assessment, and 83% say engagement with schools and colleges helps them develop talent pipelines.

Programmes such as supported internships and Access to Work also help reduce practical and administrative barriers for employers providing opportunities for young people with EHC plans.

We will continue to engage SMEs through the CEC and careers hubs to increase participation and remove barriers for young people with EHC plans.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) non-financial incentives her Department is planning to take to support SMEs in meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks for students with Education, Health and Care Plans.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We want every young person with an education, health and care (EHC) plan to benefit from inclusive careers guidance and meaningful workplace experiences.

We have no plans to introduce specific financial incentives linked directly to the Gatsby Benchmarks. Through the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and careers hubs, we help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participate by providing brokerage, employer networks, guidance, special educational needs and disabilities-focused resources and support to deliver inclusive employer encounters and workplace experiences.

The CEC’s Employer Standards help businesses improve the quality and inclusivity of their education outreach. More than 1,650 employers have completed a self-assessment, and 83% say engagement with schools and colleges helps them develop talent pipelines.

Programmes such as supported internships and Access to Work also help reduce practical and administrative barriers for employers providing opportunities for young people with EHC plans.

We will continue to engage SMEs through the CEC and careers hubs to increase participation and remove barriers for young people with EHC plans.

Found: Northamptonshire) Mr Peter Bedford (Conservative; Mid Leicestershire) Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat; Torbay) Damien Egan

Found: Northamptonshire) Mr Peter Bedford (Conservative; Mid Leicestershire) Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat; Torbay) Damien Egan

Found: the meeting Members present: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Rushanara Ali; Lee Barron; Steve Darling; Damien Egan

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15 million working-age people are not saving enough for sufficient retirement income, with low-earners most likely to be among them. But both they and small businesses feel the most pain from contribution increases.