Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Fenton-Glynn Excerpts

Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

2. What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of local authority funding for SEND.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

9. What steps she is taking to ensure sustainable funding for SEND provision in schools.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)]

This Labour Government inherited a lose, lose, lose SEND system, in the words of the Tories’ last Education Secretary, but we have invested an additional £1 billion in high needs budgets and £740 million to pave the way for pupils with SEND to achieve and thrive in mainstream schools. Just last week in Derbyshire, I met families with experience of the SEND system who had been badly failed by the Tory county council. This Labour Government know that the SEND system needs far-reaching reform to deliver better life chances for all our children.

[Bridget Phillipson]

I know that the hon. Gentleman cares deeply about this issue, and brings real passion and determination to trying to ensure that all children, including those with SEND, are given the support that they require. For the purpose of wider reform, I will look carefully at the funding issues that he has identified and also at the issue of broader support. Parents have the right to request wraparound holiday childcare places, and we updated the relevant guidance this year. We want to ensure that all children receive the support that they need, and that applies to childcare for SEND children aged up to 18.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn]

The last Government left SEND education throughout the country in crisis. The National Audit Office found that there was no consistent improvement in outcomes from 2019 onwards. I saw that at first hand when I met Calder Valley parents of SEND children at Highbury School in Rastrick, where I saw committed parents and teachers struggling with a failed system. What will my right hon. Friend do to fix the mess that the last Government made of the system?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his passion and interest in this subject. Let me also congratulate him on his efforts in yesterday’s London marathon: he is not only a brilliant advocate for children, but a fantastic runner. He is right to say that this Labour Government have inherited a terrible mess when it comes to support with children with SEND. We want all children to have the support that they need in order to achieve and thrive, and as part of the wholesale reform that we will deliver, we will listen to parents, children, stakeholders and schools to ensure that we get the system right for children and deliver better outcomes, and that issues such as those identified by my hon. Friend are a thing of the past.