Oral Answers to Questions

John Whittingdale Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Janet Daby]

I do indeed agree with my hon. Friend, and I applaud him for the work he did on the Derby Promise before he entered this place and for all he has done for children in Derby South since. I am delighted that employers such as Rolls-Royce have signed up to the Derby Promise to bring industry closer to young people and to inspire their future careers.

[Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)]

T10. Essex has seen a huge increase in the number of requests for education, health and care needs assessments, and is failing to meet the target, in part due to the difficulty of recruiting educational psychologists. Rather than trying to bury the problem by scrapping education, health and care plans, can the Minister say what the Government are doing to meet that need?

[Catherine McKinnell]

The right hon. Gentleman is pre-empting decisions before they have been made. We have not made decisions about the future of EHCPs. We are listening carefully and working with the sector to make sure we have the workforce in the system and the support systems to identify needs early. We will continue to do that, and we will work with families to design a system that works, rather than the one we inherited.