Children and Families Bill

Lord Touhig Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Touhig]

My Lords, with some improvements, which I am sure will be proposed in Committee in your Lordships’ House, the Bill has the potential to be a landmark piece of legislation. I begin by welcoming the Government’s stated intention of improving the special educational needs system for children, young people and parents. I declare my interest as a vice-president of the National Autistic Society. I know from its work that the current system is letting down too many children, with devastating results. Just one in four young people with autism accesses any form of education or training after school. Only 15% of adults with autism are in full-time employment, and 26% of graduates with autism are unemployed. That is the highest rate for any disability group.

Given these figures, it is no surprise that the Bill is eagerly anticipated. The sentiments in the 2011 Support and Aspiration Green Paper were encouraging. I pay tribute to the then Children’s Minister Sarah Teather, who promised that parents would no longer have to fight for the services their children need. Her successor Edward Timpson has said that the Government would,

“be maintaining and, in some cases, extending key protections and entitlements that matter to young people and their families”.

Therefore, expectations are very high indeed. Some progress has been made since the Bill was introduced.

I ask the Minister to confirm one of the commitments made in the other place. May we have a guarantee that independent special schools and specialist colleges can be named by parents on education, health and care plans? The indicative draft regulations are somewhat lacking in detail on this point. Perhaps the Minister could indicate when we will see the final draft of the regulations. I have seen for myself that independent schools, such as those run by the National Autistic Society and Ambitious about Autism, often cater for children with some of the most complex needs. They offer innovative new approaches to providing specialist support, while maintaining links with mainstream schools and helping children stay anchored to their local communities. That is very important.

The new system as set out in the Bill promises to be person-centred and to take a holistic, joined-up approach to children and young people by taking into account their education, health and care needs. This is an excellent aspiration, but can the noble Lord confirm that the Bill will make this a reality? I want briefly to raise some key areas of concern which I believe must be addressed if the Bill is to deliver on its promises.

First, the Bill must protect and enhance existing rights for parents and young people. Crucially, under the current system, parents rely on their right to appeal statements at tribunal. Under the new system, only provision that is deemed to be “wholly or mainly” for the purpose of education can be appealed in this way. This effectively represents raising the bar and could restrict the ability of parents to uphold their rights and support the needs of their children. I believe that the words “wholly or mainly” should be removed from Clause 21.

Secondly, I am sure that many in this House will agree that one of the most positive things in the Bill is that education, health and care plans can be maintained up to the age of 25, as opposed to the age of 19 in the current system. Transition, as we know, can be very challenging for disabled young people, and it is important that legislation should reflect the fact that young disabled people may benefit from longer periods in further education. However, like the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp of Guildford, I am concerned that reference is made in Clauses 36, 37, 44 and 45 to the fact that a local authority “must have regard” to a young person’s age. I fear that, in these difficult economic times, this will lead local councils to refuse education to young people over the age of 19. Here, I seek an assurance from the Minister that he will act to further refine these provisions to ensure that this is not the case.

I turn now to a related matter, that of the promise of a joined-up system. I would like some clarification as to why the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal cannot provide a single point of appeal for any issues concerning education, health and care plans. When a child with autism is receiving services such as speech and language therapy to help with communication or cognitive behavioural treatment to help with anxiety, how do we define whether those are educational or health needs? It is extremely difficult. It may be essential for a child to attend a school, but doing so is also likely to improve the child’s general health and well-being. Similarly, social care support such as intensive help at home for those with very complex needs or short breaks for their families are much needed and help in all kinds of ways. Parents and children certainly spend too long waiting and battling the system before they get the help they need. The local ombudsman and the myriad complaints procedures in the health service do not deliver real redress, so extending the role of the tribunal to cover health and social care in education, health and care plans would simplify the system. It would deliver real accountability for parents and help make sure that children with special educational needs receive all the services they need to realise their potential and to thrive in later life. It would also help the Government to realise their ambition of a joined-up system.

Fourthly, we must make sure that the system works for all children and young people with special educational needs, not just those with education, health and care plans. For many children with autism, specialist support is provided within a mainstream setting and without any statutory rights. At a time of squeezed local council budgets, we must make sure that there is real accountability for families as well. Councils must be under an obligation to ensure that there is sufficient provision to meet the needs of all residents with special educational needs. The local offer must not simply be an information tool, it must have real teeth. Failure to do this will result in parents increasingly seeking education, health and care plans as the only means of enforcing their right to the support that their child needs.

Finally, the Care Bill, which is being considered in Committee, contains a number of helpful provisions around care plans and how they can be transported when a person moves into a new council area. I am pleased that the Government have recognised this and have tabled an amendment on portability in the other place. However, this amendment simply creates regulation-making powers. Can the Minister inform us of when we might see these regulations and reassure us as to whether, as is the case with the Care Bill, they will make explicit reference to the continuity of provision that children and young people can expect when they move?

I return to the point about delivering the Government’s promise. This new regime must make the system easier and more accessible for all families, not just those I would call the “sharp elbow brigade”, who are educated, articulate and have the means to work the system. If it is to be effective, we have to ensure that all disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs benefit from the Bill, not just some.