Oral Answers to Questions

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Josh MacAlister]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight that one of the benefits of Erasmus+ is that it builds on the Turing scheme as well as expanding opportunities available through the partnerships to staff and students. It is a very good example to draw to the House’s attention. Around the world we have amazing practitioners teaching in a variety of settings, and it is in everyone’s benefit for them to connect with one another and be at the cutting edge of research and teaching.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

12. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools have access to specialist expertise in SEND.

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

22. What progress her Department has made on ensuring that schools have access to high-quality training to support pupils with SEND.

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

This Government are investing £1.8 billion over three years to deliver the Experts At Hand service, which will give mainstream settings access to health and education specialists for SEND. We will also deliver new SEND and inclusion training courses and materials as part of a £200 million investment for teachers, leaders and support staff.

[Jayne Kirkham]

In Cornwall and my constituency, children needing specialist SEND places have missed out this September. Some have been offered partial education otherwise than at school arrangements instead or are even at home. We inherited a system that has let down a generation. Will the Minister confirm that the new Bill is on its way and that it will close the gap for children in my constituency? When will it take effect?

[Georgia Gould]

We are determined to ensure that every child who needs a specialist place has access to one. That is why we are investing £3.7 billion in specialist places and are proposing the new specialist provision packages system. We recently had a full consultation on the proposals, and we are carefully working through the detailed responses that we got to the consultation questions. We will bring forward the Bill as quickly as possible.