Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that there is equal service provision by local authorities for the (a) issuing and (b) delivery of education, health and care plans.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to work with a wide range of partners, including schools and colleges, health and social care partners and, crucially, parents and young people, to develop their Local Offer of services and provision for special educational needs (SEN). This recognises the differing circumstances of each local area and places decision-making with the local authority. In responding to different local needs, the department would expect to see variation in the way needs are met across local authorities, including variation in the rates of education, health and care (EHC) plans.
Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have SEN that require an EHC plan. A local authority must conduct an EHC needs assessment if the child or young person has or may have SEN and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made in accordance with an EHC plan.
If the local authority issues an EHC plan, it must secure the special educational provision it specifies, working with its health and social care partners, who have separate duties.
Local authorities identified as having issues with EHC plan timeliness are subject to additional monitoring by the department who work with the specific local authority. Where the department has concerns about the local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, it has secured specialist special educational needs and disabilities advisor support to help identify the barriers to EHC plan process timeliness and put in place practical plans for recovery.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on increased demand for SEN support in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Over the last ten years there has been an international increase in identified special educational needs (SEN). Between 2016/17 and 2021/22, England saw a 40% increase in the percentage of pupils with an official SEN designation, whilst France saw a 49% increase and Germany a 19%.
Improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools is a key part of this government’s ambition to ensure that all children and young people receive the support they need, in the most appropriate setting. Conversations are ongoing between the department and the Department for Health and Social Care, including at Ministerial level, as we work closely on addressing the increased demand for SEN support in schools.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) support and (b) guidance available to (i) parents and (ii) guardians of children who require an Education, Health and Care Plan to navigate the process.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department is aware of the challenges that families face in accessing support for children and young people through the long, difficult and adversarial education, health and care (EHC) plan process.
The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice is clear that local authorities must consult and work collaboratively with children, young people and their parents throughout the process of assessment and production of an EHC plan. This statutory guidance can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7dcb85ed915d2ac884d995/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf. The department recognises that more efficient and effective communication with schools and families is pivotal to rebuilding and reforming this system. We have listened to parents, local authority colleagues, and partners across education, health and social care and are considering carefully how to address and improve the experience of the EHC plan process for families, including reflecting on what practice could or should be made consistent nationally.
Under the Children and Families Act (2014) it is a legal requirement that all local authorities have a Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS). This is to ensure families are provided with the support necessary to enable them to participate in discussions and decisions about their support, for example through their EHC plan, and strategically, for example through SEND local offers.
The department funds training and support for SENDIASS services through a contract with specialist charities which supports parents and carers of children with SEND. This contract is led by Contact, a national charity who support families with SEND. In addition, Contact also runs a national telephone helpline which offers impartial support and advice on SEND.
The department also provides grant funding to Parent Carer Forums throughout England who provide a supportive forum for parents. They work alongside local authorities, education, health and other service providers to ensure the services they plan, commission, deliver and monitor, meet the needs of children and families locally.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of local councils who have failed to meet the time limit of 20 weeks for the issuing of an Education, Health and Care Plan within the last year.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Information on the number and percentage of education, health and care plans issued within the statutory 20 week deadline, with and without statutory exceptions to that deadline applying, is published as part of the statistical release, ‘Education, health and care plans – reporting year 2024’, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans.
The figures for each local authority for the 2023 calendar year can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/7b372ed7-8c76-42df-5a32-08dd3479441b.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for implementing alternative student finance following the introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement in the 2025-26 academic year.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department is committed to introducing an alternative student finance (ASF) product, compatible with Islamic finance principles, as quickly as we can. To support this, the department has reconvened an expert working group made up of representatives from the Islamic community and the finance sector. The department has also appointed a secretariat to take forward the certification of the product as compatible with Islamic finance principles.
The delivery of the ASF product will need to follow the introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), which will replace the existing student finance system when introduced. The first LLE-funded courses and modules will begin in January 2027 and the department intends to introduce ASF as soon as possible after this.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to increase awareness of financial support available to students.
Answered by Janet Daby
Information on the student support package for the 2024/25 academic year, is available on GOV.UK at: https://studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk/currently-a-student/.
The higher education (HE) sector needs a secure financial footing to face the challenges of the next decade, and to ensure that all students have confidence that they will receive the world-class HE experience they deserve.
In line with this approach, on 4 November 2024, this government announced that from 1 August 2025 it will be increasing both the maximum cap for tuition fees, and maintenance loans for students, in line with inflation.
There is much more to do to expand access and improve outcomes for disadvantaged students. That is why we have announced that we expect the HE sector to do more to support students by working with the government and the Office for Students, and by making the most of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement. We will be setting out longer-term plans for the sector next year.
Further information for prospective students is provided on the Student Finance England website, available here: https://studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk/student-toolkit/.
The government will announce further details of the student finance package for the 2025/26 academic year soon.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle persistent absence in schools in Slough constituency.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This government is determined to tackle the generational challenge of school absence which is a fundamental barrier to learning and life chances. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, which limits their opportunity to succeed. There is evidence that more students are attending school this year compared to last, thanks to the sector’s efforts although around 1.6 million children remain persistently absent and miss 10% or more of lessons.
The department has a national approach to supporting all schools to tackle absence, including those in the Slough constituency. Central to this approach are stronger expectations of local authorities and schools, as set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which was made statutory on 19 August 2024. The guidance promotes a 'support first' approach, encouraging schools, trusts and local authorities to work with families in addressing attendance barriers.
Every state school in England should now be sharing their daily attendance register data with the department, local authorities and trusts. These bodies can access this data through a secure, interactive dashboard which is maintained by the department, allowing them to target attendance interventions more effectively.
The department recognises the importance of creating opportunities within the sector to share existing best practice on how to improve attendance. This is why the department has set up a network of 31 attendance hubs, who have offered support to 2000 schools and shared their strategies and resources for improving attendance.
In addition to this work, the department also aims to improve the existing evidence on which interventions work to improve attendance. Over £17 million is being invested across two mentoring projects that will support at least 12,000 pupils in 15 areas. These programmes will be evaluated and the effective practice shared with schools and local authorities nationally.
From early 2025, new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will support all state schools by facilitating networking, sharing best practice across areas, including attendance, and empowering schools to feel they can better access support and learn from one another. For schools requiring more intensive support, RISE teams and supporting organisations will work collaboratively with their responsible body to agree bespoke packages of targeted support, based on a school’s particular circumstances.
School attendance is also supported by broader investments, such as funded breakfast clubs, across all primary schools to ensure children start their day ready to learn. The department will also initiate new annual Ofsted reviews focusing on safeguarding, attendance and off-rolling.
We are working across government on plans to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.
Data published in May this year showed that, in Slough local authority, 42% of schools and colleges worked with a Mental Health Support Team in March 2024 compared to 34% nationally, and 78% of schools and colleges had signed up for a senior mental health lead training grant, compared to 74% nationally.
Schools can also allocate pupil premium funding, which has now increased to over £2.9 billion for the 2024/25 financial year, to support pupils with identified needs to attend school regularly.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of young people out of (a) work, (b) education and (c) training in Slough.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department publishes statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the labour force survey (LFS) for young people aged 16 to 24. The statistics are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief.
The number of 16 to 24-year-olds estimated as NEET in England at the end of 2023 is estimated to be 709,600 (11.9% of the population). However, these estimates are only published at national level due to limitations with sample sizes for lower-level geographies. Therefore, NEET rates for young people aged 16 to 24 in Slough cannot be provided.
However, local authorities are required to encourage, enable or assist young people’s participation in education or training and return management information for young people aged 16 and 17. This data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-and-participation-local-authority-figures. The data shows that of the 4,435 young people aged 16 and 17 years old who were known to Slough local authority at the end of 2022 (average of December 2022, January 2023 and February 2023), 217 were NEET or their activity was not known (117 known to be NEET and 100 young people for whom the local authority could not confirm their activity). These statistics are published as transparency data so some caution should be taken if using these figures.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle the impact of socio-economic disadvantage on future earnings.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Every child should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are, where they are from, or how much their parents earn. Too often opportunity for children and young people is defined by their background.
That is why this government is committed to breaking the link between a child’s background and their future success. The Opportunity Mission will set every child up for the best start in life, help every child to achieve and thrive at school, build skills for opportunity and growth, and build family security, tackling the underlying barriers to opportunity that hold too many children and young people back. The Plan for Change sets out more details on our priorities for the Opportunity Mission: https://www.gov.uk/missions.
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and to prosper.
On 23 October 2024 the government published ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy’, which sets out how the government will develop the Strategy, which will harness all available levers to deliver a reduction in child poverty this parliament as part of an ambitious ten year strategy. The report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.
The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support, especially in the early years.
This government will also, at last, commence the socio-economic duty in Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010. The duty will require public bodies, when making strategic decisions, to actively consider how their decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage. We will be updating Parliament on this in due course.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children living in relative poverty are not eligible for free school meals.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The new government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child.
The government has inherited a trend of rising child poverty and widening attainment gaps between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers. Child poverty has increased by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. The government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start at life. To support this, a new ministerial taskforce has been set up to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, which will be published in spring 2025. The taskforce will consider a range of policies in assessing what will have the greatest impact in driving down rates of child poverty.
A formal assessment has not been made of the number of children living in relative poverty who are eligible to receive FSM. As with all policies, the government keeps the approach to FSM under review.