Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree; it is absolutely right that children in my hon. Friend’s constituency deserve every chance to achieve and thrive, and that is the ultimate goal of our child poverty taskforce. As the Prime Minister set out just last week through our plan for change, we want to give every child the best start in life, and that is just not possible if millions of children across our country are growing up in poverty.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

17. What steps her Department is taking to improve support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

[Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)]

22. What steps her Department is taking to improve support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

[The Minister for School Standards (Catherine McKinnell)]

The Government’s ambition is that all children with special educational needs receive the right support to succeed, where possible in mainstream schools. We will strengthen accountability and improve inclusivity through Ofsted, and we will support professionals to develop their SEND expertise. High needs funding will increase by almost £1 billion in the next spending year.

[Helen Morgan]

Children with special educational needs and disabilities in Shropshire are relatively poorly funded compared with those in the rest of the country. Top-up funding for those with the highest level of needs is just £7,000, meaning that the schools that support them cannot even afford a full-time teaching assistant to help them progress. Can the Minister describe what she is doing to ensure that funding is fairly distributed across the country, so that children with special educational needs can get the help they need wherever they live?

[Catherine McKinnell]

We know that local authorities have been significantly impacted by increased demand for education, health and care plans, as well as challenges in workforce capacity. We expect the £740 million of additional investment to create thousands of new places in both mainstream and special schools and in specialist settings. We will confirm the allocations to specific local authorities, which know how best to invest in their local areas to increase capacity as needed, in the spring.