Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of potential impact of local authority funding for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities provision on outcomes for children with SEND; and whether her Department holds data on children's outcomes across local authorities with differing levels of SEND funding.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes a High Needs Benchmarking Tool, which offers comparative data on local authorities’ high needs spending and related special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) indicators across local authorities. This tool may assist in understanding variations between local authorities in how they fund SEND provision.
The department also publishes a variety of data on children’s and young people’s outcomes by special educational needs across all local authorities. A summary of these outcomes and their sources can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bdc2de3effd5b79ba490fd/Special_educational_needs_and_disability_analysis_and_summary_of_data_sources_Aug24.pdf.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the formula for allocating per-pupil high needs funding on educational outcomes in local authorities that have a deficit in their high needs education budgets.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The operation of the high needs funding system is currently under review. Our aim is to establish a fair education funding system that directs resources to where they are most needed and enables improved support and outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Because it is important that we take the time needed for this review, the structure of the high needs national funding formula is largely unchanged for the 2025/26 financial year allocations to local authorities and we are considering the funding required in future years, following the conclusion of the recent spending review.
We want future funding for SEND to support our plans for reforming the SEND system, which will be set out in further detail in a white paper in the autumn. We will also outline, before the end of this year, how the government intends to support local authorities in managing their historic and accruing high needs deficits.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on reviewing the high needs national funding formula.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The operation of the high needs funding system is currently under review. Our aim is to establish a fair education funding system that directs resources to where they are most needed and enables improved support and outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Because it is important that we take the time needed for this review, the structure of the high needs national funding formula is largely unchanged for the 2025/26 financial year allocations to local authorities and we are considering the funding required in future years, following the conclusion of the recent spending review.
We want future funding for SEND to support our plans for reforming the SEND system, which will be set out in further detail in a white paper in the autumn. We will also outline, before the end of this year, how the government intends to support local authorities in managing their historic and accruing high needs deficits.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to (a) remove and (b) consult on a timetable for the removal of the historic spend factor from the High Needs National Funding Formula.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The structure of the high needs national funding formula (NFF) is largely unchanged for the 2025/26 financial year, as the government takes the time needed to consider what changes are necessary. It is important both to make sure that we establish an equitable education funding system that directs funding to where it is needed, including to reflect any substantive differences in the costs of SEND provision in rural areas, and to support the government’s SEND reforms.
As part of our review of the NFF we are considering the previous government’s decisions on the element based on local authorities’ spending levels in 2017/18, which amounts to about 25% of the 2025/26 NFF quantum. Our plans for this historic spend factor, as for the NFF as a whole, and for any consultations on changes to the NFF, will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that the High Needs National Funding reflects the additional costs of delivering SEND provision in rural areas.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The structure of the high needs national funding formula (NFF) is largely unchanged for the 2025/26 financial year, as the government takes the time needed to consider what changes are necessary. It is important both to make sure that we establish an equitable education funding system that directs funding to where it is needed, including to reflect any substantive differences in the costs of SEND provision in rural areas, and to support the government’s SEND reforms.
As part of our review of the NFF we are considering the previous government’s decisions on the element based on local authorities’ spending levels in 2017/18, which amounts to about 25% of the 2025/26 NFF quantum. Our plans for this historic spend factor, as for the NFF as a whole, and for any consultations on changes to the NFF, will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have an education, health and care plan in each local authority area.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the number of education, health and care plans maintained by local authorities in England is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans.
The number maintained by each local authority as at January 2024 is shown here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3d449b46-56a8-4404-6cee-08dd48e2728c.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost to local authorities of (a) establishing and (b) maintaining a register of home schooled children.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for statutory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, and the accompanying duties on parents and out-of-school education providers to provide information for these registers, will support local authorities in identifying all children not in school in their areas, and ensure that they receive the education they deserve.
The department knows that the new duties created by the Children Not in School measures will create additional burdens for local authorities. Additional funding will therefore be provided to support local authorities to carry out these new duties. As part of our implementation strategy, we will conduct a new burdens assessment to determine the level of funding.
Parents will not be issued with monetary penalties for failure to provide information for Children Not in School registers. The consequence if a parent of an eligible child has failed to provide the required information for a local authority register is that the local authority has the power to commence the School Attendance Order process. Once an order has been issued, it is only if it is subsequently breached and the parent is convicted that this might lead to a monetary penalty not exceeding Level 4 on the standard scale for the parent. The School Attendance Order process is not intended to criminalise parents of home educated children, but to ensure that those children receive a suitable education.
In the autumn 2023 elective home education (EHE) data collection, local authorities recorded that 4.6% of the EHE population were known to them to be children from Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities, which is in comparison to 0.4% of such children recorded to be in the wider school population. We will continue to engage with these communities as part of the implementation process, to ensure that their specific needs are identified and considered.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of children of peripatetic families not in school who will be captured by the proposed register of home schooled children.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for statutory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, and the accompanying duties on parents and out-of-school education providers to provide information for these registers, will support local authorities in identifying all children not in school in their areas, and ensure that they receive the education they deserve.
The department knows that the new duties created by the Children Not in School measures will create additional burdens for local authorities. Additional funding will therefore be provided to support local authorities to carry out these new duties. As part of our implementation strategy, we will conduct a new burdens assessment to determine the level of funding.
Parents will not be issued with monetary penalties for failure to provide information for Children Not in School registers. The consequence if a parent of an eligible child has failed to provide the required information for a local authority register is that the local authority has the power to commence the School Attendance Order process. Once an order has been issued, it is only if it is subsequently breached and the parent is convicted that this might lead to a monetary penalty not exceeding Level 4 on the standard scale for the parent. The School Attendance Order process is not intended to criminalise parents of home educated children, but to ensure that those children receive a suitable education.
In the autumn 2023 elective home education (EHE) data collection, local authorities recorded that 4.6% of the EHE population were known to them to be children from Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities, which is in comparison to 0.4% of such children recorded to be in the wider school population. We will continue to engage with these communities as part of the implementation process, to ensure that their specific needs are identified and considered.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the penalty for late payment for not registering home schooled children will be; and what the maximum penalty will be in the event of continued non-payment.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for statutory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, and the accompanying duties on parents and out-of-school education providers to provide information for these registers, will support local authorities in identifying all children not in school in their areas, and ensure that they receive the education they deserve.
The department knows that the new duties created by the Children Not in School measures will create additional burdens for local authorities. Additional funding will therefore be provided to support local authorities to carry out these new duties. As part of our implementation strategy, we will conduct a new burdens assessment to determine the level of funding.
Parents will not be issued with monetary penalties for failure to provide information for Children Not in School registers. The consequence if a parent of an eligible child has failed to provide the required information for a local authority register is that the local authority has the power to commence the School Attendance Order process. Once an order has been issued, it is only if it is subsequently breached and the parent is convicted that this might lead to a monetary penalty not exceeding Level 4 on the standard scale for the parent. The School Attendance Order process is not intended to criminalise parents of home educated children, but to ensure that those children receive a suitable education.
In the autumn 2023 elective home education (EHE) data collection, local authorities recorded that 4.6% of the EHE population were known to them to be children from Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities, which is in comparison to 0.4% of such children recorded to be in the wider school population. We will continue to engage with these communities as part of the implementation process, to ensure that their specific needs are identified and considered.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the monetary penalty issued to a person who has not registered their child would be under clause 436E of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill for statutory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, and the accompanying duties on parents and out-of-school education providers to provide information for these registers, will support local authorities in identifying all children not in school in their areas, and ensure that they receive the education they deserve.
The department knows that the new duties created by the Children Not in School measures will create additional burdens for local authorities. Additional funding will therefore be provided to support local authorities to carry out these new duties. As part of our implementation strategy, we will conduct a new burdens assessment to determine the level of funding.
Parents will not be issued with monetary penalties for failure to provide information for Children Not in School registers. The consequence if a parent of an eligible child has failed to provide the required information for a local authority register is that the local authority has the power to commence the School Attendance Order process. Once an order has been issued, it is only if it is subsequently breached and the parent is convicted that this might lead to a monetary penalty not exceeding Level 4 on the standard scale for the parent. The School Attendance Order process is not intended to criminalise parents of home educated children, but to ensure that those children receive a suitable education.
In the autumn 2023 elective home education (EHE) data collection, local authorities recorded that 4.6% of the EHE population were known to them to be children from Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities, which is in comparison to 0.4% of such children recorded to be in the wider school population. We will continue to engage with these communities as part of the implementation process, to ensure that their specific needs are identified and considered.