Samantha Niblett
Main Page: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)Department Debates - View all Samantha Niblett's debates with the Department for Education
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)
Schools in my constituency, including Fairmeadows Foundation primary school, applied to Reform-led Derbyshire county council for capital funding for SEND provision within their mainstream settings. They were told that their application was successful in July 2025, and again in September that year. Funding was to come from a pot believed to be about £7 million, with an extra £500,000 mentioned on 10 September this year, but so far no funding has been released. I personally raised this matter with the council leader, Alan Graves, in June. When we chased the money again last week, we were told that the service-level agreements were still being worked on. Will the Minster please join me in calling on Derbyshire county council to get on with releasing these moneys?
Lucy Powell
I am very sorry to hear that the Reform-led council in Derbyshire is not following through quickly enough on its commitment to SEND families in the council area. We will, of course, pick that up. We are working closely with all local authorities on their SEND reform plans, and ensuring that they put them into action quickly.