Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Green and Will Quince

Monday 4th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Green (Chesham and Amersham) (LD)]

13. What steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) identification of and (b) provision of support to children with SEND.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Will Quince)]

We are currently consulting on the special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision Green Paper. This includes our proposal to establish a single national SEND and alternative provision system, setting nationally consistent standards. It will set out how needs should be identified and assessed, and the appropriate provision should be made available to meet those needs.

[Sarah Green]

I thank the Minister for his answer. I have spoken to multiple parents in my constituency whose disabled children are entering the summer holidays without knowing where they are going to be in September or whether the support they need will be in place because of a lengthy delay for an appointment with an educational psychologist. While I welcome the Government’s announcement about increasing funding for educational psychologists, the 2023 intake is too late to help young people who need this support now. How do the Government intend to tackle the backlog in this support and ensure that the SEND Green Paper addresses the funding gap in disabled children’s services?