Children with SEND: Assessments and Support
Debate between Stella Creasy and Roz Savage(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Dr Savage
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. Given the number of people who want to take part, I will proceed with my speech to allow the maximum number possible the chance to speak.
We extended support from birth to 25 in 2014, replacing statements with holistic education, health and care plans, but those reforms coincided with major funding pressures. Families now routinely have to enforce their rights through tribunals, with almost all appeals finding in their favour.
Last week, a new Institute for Fiscal Studies report confirmed the seriousness of this crisis. It found that, since 2018, the number of pupils with EHCPs has grown by nearly 80%, from under 3% to over 5% of pupils, while local authorities face cumulative high-needs deficits, which are projected to reach £8 billion by 2027. The report also shows that the cost of independent special school places is now more than double that of state special schools on average. The IFS warns that, without reform, spending pressures will balloon over the next few years.
Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
The hon. Lady is making a very powerful case, and we all agree that we want to get the system right. Can we also all agree, because there is not a Reform Member here, that the comments about the system being “hijacked” were completely inappropriate and do not speak for the needs of the children we all want to represent, and that we all in this room condemn that as being without foundation? [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”]