Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Monday 27th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Olivia Bailey]

I am pleased to speak once again on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and I will start by reminding colleagues why it matters. First, and most importantly, this Bill is about keeping children safe, ensuring that no child is let down by the system, and ensuring that children in care get the support and love that they deserve. This Bill is about high standards in schools for all our children, so that every child can get on in life and succeed; it is about excellent teachers in every school following our modern, world-leading national curriculum; and it is about removing barriers to opportunity and lifting 100,000 children out of poverty through our expansion of free school meals.

There will be no more eye-watering uniform bills, and there will be free breakfast clubs in every primary school. We are already seeing the difference that this is making: children enjoying not just a healthy breakfast, but a wonderful, supportive start to the school day. That is driving improvements in attendance and behaviour, and saving parents time and money, as this Government continue to do everything we can to support people with the cost of living. The Bill ensures safety and opportunity for all children in this country, and as my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary said when she introduced it, this Bill is for them.

I am grateful to everybody who has engaged with the passage of this legislation in both Houses, and I am glad that on the issues we have most recently discussed—admissions and particularly phones in schools—we have found a way forward. I thank the noble Baroness Barran, the Opposition spokesperson in the other place, for meeting me this afternoon to discuss our shared ambition to ensure that children should not have access to mobile phones at any point in the school day. I am glad that Members of the other place have supported that position today.

Lords amendment 105C is a minor amendment to adjust the Bill’s long title, to reflect the addition of the allergies measures.

On the remaining question of access to social media, we have listened carefully to the concerns raised across both Houses about the importance of the Government acting swiftly once the consultation has concluded, and we have significantly strengthened the power. The Government have said repeatedly that it is a question of how we act, not if, but to put this beyond any doubt, we are placing a clear statutory requirement that the Secretary of State “must”, rather than “may”, act following the consultation. That brings forward regulations without pre-empting the consultation’s outcomes, and does not ignore the tens of thousands of parents and children who have already engaged with us.

Let us be clear: the status quo cannot continue. We are consulting on the mechanism, which is the right thing to do, but we are clear that under any outcome we will impose some form of age or functionality for children under 16. I can also confirm that consideration of restrictions such as curfews will be in addition to that, not instead of it. As the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has said, we are focused on addictive features, harmful algorithmically-driven content and features such as stranger pairing, which we know can be most damaging to children’s safety and privacy.

The Government have committed in legislation to publishing a timeline as part of the statutory progress report already set out in the Bill. Recognising the strength of feeling and our shared determination to reach the quickest possible action, we are reducing the timeline further this evening. Our statutory progress report must now be made three months after the Bill receives Royal Assent, reflecting our intention to quickly produce a response following the consultation. Following that report, we will have 12 months to lay regulations, but our firm intention is to move faster, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has been clear that we aim to do so by the end of the year.

In exceptional circumstances, the Government have the option to extend the timeline by a further six months. To be clear, we have no intention to use this six-month backstop, except for in serious and unforeseen circumstances. In that event, we would need to return to Parliament to explain why the extension was needed. In recognition of the strong concerns expressed about harmful and addictive design features, we have further specified that the Secretary of State must have due regard to such features when deciding how to exercise the power and making future regulations.

We all share the same objective: keeping children safe online. These changes give us the strongest foundation for quick and decisive action.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

You talk about swift action, but actually what you talked about—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Order. I have not spoken about swift action. Would the hon. Member like to make another short intervention appropriately?

[Victoria Collins]

I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Minister talks about swift action, but the timelines put forward in the Lords still add up to 21 months before there is action. Does the Minister believe that that is at all swift? I do not think that parents will.

Young Adult Carers: Education and Training

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Westminster Hall

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I thank the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) for securing this important debate. Like many, I think this debate should start with a very strong and clear thank you to carers across this country. Young adult carers are one of the most overlooked groups, as mentioned by the hon. Members for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and for Harlow. In that moment just after formal education, when young carers become young adult carers, they move into an informal space where care for them is even more desperately needed.

As many hon. Members have today, I will put on record the scale of the work that young carers do. More than 131,000 young people aged 16 to 24 provide at least 20 hours of unpaid care every single week, and more than 40,000 of them care for more than 50 hours a week, as the hon. Member for Strangford mentioned. That is more than a full-time job. As the hon. Member for Harlow highlighted, there are many who do not even know they are caring. They are just showing love to their family members, but they give so much.

I mentioned young adult carers, who are past formal education, but the question of access to education and training starts before that. In 2025, fewer than half of young carers left secondary school with five GCSEs including English and maths. By the time young carers are doing their A-levels, they are 60% less likely than non-young carers to achieve the equivalent of three A-levels.

Nearly half of young carers were persistently absent from school last year through no fault of their own. We talk about almost 1 million young people being not in education, employment or training, but we need to make sure that Ministers do not overlook this group as part of that picture. When we look at NEETs, how many of them are carers, as the hon. Member for Harlow mentioned?

Just last week in Harpenden, I met the organisation Carers in Hertfordshire. There was a mix of ages, including a young carer named Jordan, who spoke so lovingly about how he supported his mum. Themes were raised that ring true for this debate. One carer described unpaid caring as “a one-person care home” with

“no place to think and no headspace.”

Another spoke of feeling invisible, living “behind closed doors”, and said that simply meeting other carers was itself a lifeline.

Many young carers, as I mentioned, do not know that they are carers; they are simply doing what they can for loved ones. Identifying who they are is key, as the hon. Member for Harlow highlighted. Jordan, whom we spoke to, highlighted the choices he is making now about the college he is going to and about work, and shared lovingly how his responsibilities shape those choices. It does have an impact. What came through these discussions was that triple failure: lack of funding, lack of support, and the all-encompassing life of being a family carer.

The APPG inquiry confirms that this is systemic. As care increasingly shifts out of hospitals and into homes, more young people are quietly being handed responsibilities that the NHS used to carry, with nothing offered in return, and their education and training options are impacted as a consequence.

The Liberal Democrats have for a long time been champions of carers. I am sure many know that our leader, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey), knows first hand what it is to be a young carer for his mother and is now a carer for his son. We believe that education, apprenticeships and employment must be genuine, accessible options for every young adult carer, no matter where they live. We must ensure that young adult carers get the full support they need to have the chance of the future that they deserve.

My very first question in the Chamber was about having cross-party discussions on social care, because at the heart of this is also the caring system that encompasses our NHS, and that is vital. To further support young carers, the Liberal Democrats would abolish the 21-hour rule for carers’ allowance, which is also part of the recommendations. That 21-hour rule forces young people to choose between studying and surviving.

We would require every school and college to appoint a young carers lead; fund proper breaks for young carers; restore maintenance grants; and make caring a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Will the Minister commit to abolishing that 21-hour rule, which is actively pushing carers out of education? Will he look at a youth guarantee and jobs guarantee, specifically addressing the needs of young adult carers, and not treat this as an afterthought?

Young carers give everything to their families, as do carers. However, young adult carers are at the cusp of coming out of formal support, and that is so difficult. We must ensure that the Government do as much as they can to give back to them. I again thank the hon. Member for Harlow for securing this debate.

Children with SEND: Assessments and Support

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Monday 15th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Georgia Gould)]

I thank the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for introducing the debate. The strength of feeling expressed by everyone in the room shows how important it is; I feel that the voices of children and families from every part of the country were heard in the Chamber today. It was such a powerful discussion, partly because so much work has gone on to set up listening exercises in constituencies and hear voices around the country. My hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) said that a report was coming to the Secretary of State, and many have written in. I would like to take the time to meet those who have spent so much time with their constituents and hear directly from them. I know that one or two minutes is not enough time to get across the depth of these issues and the depth of concern.

I look forward to the publication of the Education Committee report this week. The Committee’s Chair, my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes), spoke powerfully about it and I know that it was deeply researched. I hope that I can spend time with her to hear her findings.

I thank the parents who have sat through the debate in the Public Gallery for bringing their voices into the room. I know how hard it is for many parents of children with special educational needs to travel. Even if they are not in the room today, the voices of the more than 125,000 parents who signed the petition have been heard.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

From the SEND rally to the petition and the Lib Dems’ SEND summit in Hertfordshire today, those voices are being heard. I thank the Minister, who met Rachel and Siouxsie from my constituency today. Siouxsie has developmental language disorder and often feels invisible. Will the Minister guarantee that voices such as hers truly will be heard and that children’s individual needs will be brought forward for proper provision?

Government Support for Ukrainians

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Martin Wrigley]

Yes, I believe that we should be looking for a permanent solution and a permanent answer for the Ukrainians, and that is why I asked the Prime Minister about it last week. His answer was more positive than before, and he even appeared to say that another 18 months would be added. I ask the Minister to clarify that statement.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

I have a Ukrainian guest who says they feel safe and settled in Berkhamsted and cannot return, and is asking for a long-term solution. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to look at examples of solutions, such as that in Poland, through which we can provide certainty for the Ukrainians here?

[Martin Wrigley]

Yes, we need to do exactly that.

If the UK is to support the defence of Ukraine, we must continue to support the vulnerable Ukrainian guests in our country and to give them some certainty about their future. In my discussions with groups around the Newton Abbot constituency, I have heard many of their concerns. We have one family with a 17-year-old son with them. Ukrainian child passports have a duration of just four years, and they have to renew his passport. He has been told to do that, but he will need to return to Kyiv. His parents are now worried that he will either not be allowed to get back here, or not be allowed to stay here with an expired passport.

SEND Funding

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) on securing this vital debate. I would like to start with the words of Berkhamsted student Hermione:

“I believe, without a doubt, that the school system needs to change. But more than anything, it needs to change for SEN students—because right now, it is failing them…The system broke me down completely. Instead of supporting me, the system left me feeling isolated and overwhelmed.”

Last week, I met Hermione at Egerton-Rothesay school in Berkhamsted. She has complex needs, and has found solace in her new school after years of struggling. That is why, for her English oral exam, she was compelled to write a piece called “The school system needs to change: especially for SEN students”. She happened to send it to her headmaster on the day I visited. It is an eloquent piece about her experience, and I wish I had time to share it in its entirety. She concludes by saying:

“I know I’m lucky to have the support I do, but it’s still not enough. The system needs to change—not just for me, but for all the students still being let down, and for the future of education itself.”

She calls for improved teacher training, for a more flexible curriculum and assessments, for schools to listen to SEND students and for properly funded and staffed support. I would like to tell Hermione that Parliament is listening, and this debate will dive into why that proper funding is so vital and how it can be improved.

The Government must heed the call of parents and children to tackle this issue head on. The Public Accounts Committee reported in January that despite the 58% increase in the Department for Education’s high needs funding over the past decade, it has not kept pace with demand. The current funding model, which sees top-up funding for students requiring more than £6,000 a year of additional SEND support, has not been updated, even given the changes in real-term value. That is crippling local schools and authorities, with 38 unitary and county authorities having racked up debts exceeding £2 billion this year alone. That has resulted in high-needs spending being consistently higher than available funding by between £200 million and £800 million a year between 2018 and 2022.

Hertfordshire was given the worst rating for SEND provision under the previous Conservative Administration. The funding formula under the Conservatives meant that children in Hertfordshire have been burdened with the third-lowest per capita funding for high needs funding and far less than just next door in Buckinghamshire. A three-year-old in Hertfordshire with SEND needs would have to finish all their formal education before they would get equal funding to a similar child in Buckinghamshire. The new Government must stop this postcode lottery, as eloquently put forward by the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart), and ensure that those previously left behind get the support they need.

Kyle’s family in Markyate told me that the system treated them not as kids with hopes and dreams, but as just another name on a piece of paper. Jess in Tring made the difficult decision to remove their six-year-old from school to home-educate and told me that seeing their five-year-old struggling was “heartbreaking”. Those are not isolated cases; they reflect the story across constituencies up and down the country, the real consequences of underfunding and the postcode lottery of unfair distribution.

The Liberal Democrats have a clear plan to fix this broken system. We call on the Government: to establish a national SEND body to end this postcode lottery and to fully fund costs above £25,000 per annum, ensuring that children with complex needs receive the tailored support they require; to increase funding for local authorities to reduce the financial burden on schools after the Conservatives left local councils underfunded; to extend the profit cap from children’s social care to SEND; to provide cash towards the cost of EHCPs to tackle the disincentives creating this adversarial system; and, to reform that broken national funding formula.

This crisis cannot go on. Every child, no matter their needs, deserves the opportunity to succeed with the right support in place. The Government must urgently clarify their reform plans. SEND families deserve certainty, not to be drip-fed information about their children’s future. As Hermione says:

“To anyone who thinks, ‘The system works fine as it is’—fine for who? If it doesn’t work for all, then it doesn’t truly work.”

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call the shadow Minister.

Free School Meals

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Thursday 5th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

As always, my hon. Friend comes at this from a very informed position. It was a real pleasure to visit a school in Hackney recently to see at first hand the brilliant work of the “chefs in schools” programme. That is why I am so delighted to say that we will be announcing further details on our school food standard work to update that guidance in due course. She mentions breakfast clubs. We have obviously tripled funding into breakfast clubs to over £30 million in this financial year, and we are making huge progress in delivering that through our early adopter scheme.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

I welcome this announcement from the Government and celebrate the success of the Liberal Democrats, who for many years have campaigned on this policy, including my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson), who has been so passionate about this issue. Indeed, this is a step in the right direction. My constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted is often seen as an affluent area, but there are pockets of poverty. Charities often say that it is harder in those areas, because not only are costs higher, but deprivation is hidden. Currently, the two-child benefit cap restricts universal support to two children, pushing thousands of families into poverty. Therefore, do these restrictions mean that the third and any subsequent children would not have access to free school meals, or would simply being in a household that receives universal credit be sufficient to qualify?

[Stephen Morgan]

I can assure the hon. Member that it will be for all children in that household. More broadly, we are introducing breakfast clubs, which is a universal offer in every primary school across the country. Other measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will cap the number of branded items on school uniform, which I think will make a real difference to the money going into parents’ pockets.

Maths: Contribution to the UK

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Thursday 5th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom) for securing this debate and for the passionate speeches from across the Chamber, which highlighted that maths is not just an academic subject but a fundamental gateway to prosperity, opportunity, and innovation for individuals across the UK.

As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for science, innovation and technology, as the MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, I am proud to speak in this debate. I am someone who personally owes a lot to maths: I studied maths at A-level and went on to do a master’s in economic policy. At school, I was proudly somehow the school’s maths champion for two years in a row, but sadly did not quite make the cut for the maths Olympics—[Interruption.] I know.

Maths gave me much more than equations and graphs; it gave me the confidence to tackle problems, persevere through setbacks, and think logically under pressure. My hon. Friend the Member for Thornbury and Yate (Claire Young) beautifully explained how it is really about thinking and how it can help us to logically go through problems. Those skills have stayed with me, from working in the private sector to running my own business, and now in my role in Parliament. Maths has opened doors for me, and such opportunity should be a national priority.

For the Liberal Democrats, ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality maths education is essential for fairness and innovation and for securing our country’s future. It has been a real pleasure to hear from the hon. Members for Harlow (Chris Vince) and for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) about the importance of that and about upskilling our next generation. I particularly love how the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood talked about encouraging the love of maths and of learning, and about embedding maths into vocational subjects. It is important to look at the Finnish model, which asks how we can apply maths, because there are many ways to learn maths that are important to our everyday lives.

The Liberal Democrats also believe that every young person deserves the opportunity to develop strong maths skills regardless of their background. Maths skills are critical not just for economic growth, but for critical thinking, problem-solving skills and social mobility more broadly. We will champion proper funding for maths education and research as essential pillars of a forward-looking knowledge-based economy.

In my constituency, I see the best of the UK’s maths ecosystem at work. Alongside Rothamsted Research, our globally recognised research hub, are fast-growing local tech businesses. Our schools are working hard to ensure that maths is not just a subject learned in the classroom but a skill that inspires, empowers and prepares young people for life. My hon. Friend the Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire talked about the importance of the tech sector, and how Cambridge is No. 1 for science and technology in terms of intensity, as well as the data science that comes out of that.

Coming back to the schools in my constituency, Tring Park school for the performing arts is a vocational school for future performers, but maths is celebrated there as a creative and intellectual pursuit. Pupils compete in math competitions—one may become a future maths champion—and are encouraged to see mathematics as a tool that complements their artistry, as has been mentioned. From subdividing music and choreographing patterns, to developing algorithms in digital art, students are not just taught to do maths; they are taught to be mathematicians.

At Roundwood Park school in Harpenden, maths is one of the most popular A-level subjects, with a thriving enrichment programme that includes university taster days, United Kingdom Mathematics Trust challenges and presentations linking maths to real-world issues such as AI, oncology and environmental economics. Its pupils go on to study maths, economics and engineering at competitive universities, and the curriculum explicitly links abstract thinking to practical application.

Alongside those successes, schools in my constituency tell me that they are struggling to recruit the teachers they need—an issue reflected across the country, as Members on both sides of the Chamber mentioned. For example, St John Lawes school in Harpenden, a high-performing comprehensive, has a fully staffed maths department today, but its headteacher warns that recruiting high-quality staff is becoming harder. To manage, it has invested in platforms such as Dr Frost Maths and Sparx to help to consolidate maths learning, but it knows that that is not a suitable alternative to great teachers. As the hon. Member for Harlow mentioned, there are fantastic maths teachers across Harpenden, so it is vital that we get recruitment right. Those new teachers are the maths teachers of tomorrow.

Nationally, the situation is much more concerning. Although maths remains the most popular A-level, undergraduate numbers are predicted to drop by 20% by 2035, with departments across the country at risk of closure, particularly at lower-tariff universities. Meanwhile, teacher recruitment in maths reached only 63% of its target in 2023-24, and schools nationwide are increasingly reliant on non-specialist teachers. That directly impacts students’ engagement and confidence, and is especially worrying for girls. Despite outperforming boys at GCSE, girls are far less likely to continue maths post 16. According to a 2024 survey from Teach First, more than half of girls lack confidence in maths, compared with 40% of boys. We are losing that diverse talent where we need it most. We urgently need to dismantle those barriers by promoting role models, tackling bias and ensuring that inspiring, qualified teachers are available to every student.

As the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology spokesperson for the Lib Dems, I see the fast-paced change in science and technology, and I believe it is vital that women play a leading role in that future. For many, that will start with maths and science, as the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood highlighted. That is why programmes such as the advanced mathematics support programme are so important, as they have boosted A-level and further maths participation rates, nearly doubling core maths qualifications since 2018. Recent cuts threaten their continued success, however, which is why we want to hear the Minister’s response on those schemes. We should expand them, not scale them back.

The funding shortfalls have broader implications for science and innovation. The UK’s domestic computing capacity has slipped from third to 10th globally, and the Government’s independent review warns that that undermines our global position in science and technology. The decision to shelve the £800 million exascale computer at the University of Edinburgh, crucial for breakthroughs in drug development and clean energy, highlights that worrying trend. I echo the questions from my hon. Friend the Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire about the implications of the real-term cuts to UKRI on the future of maths.

To lead in innovation, green technology and AI, Britain must invest in mathematical sciences. That is why the Liberal Democrats would champion proper funding for maths education and research as an essential pillar of a forward-looking, knowledge-based economy. In 2023 alone, mathematical sciences contributed £495 billion to the UK’s economy. I would love the Minister to outline the funding that is going into supporting maths education and research.

The Liberal Democrats would ensure that maths and STEM teaching reflects the skills children need, including statistics, coding and data science, taught through creativity and critical thinking. We would embed digital and data literacy across the curriculum. We believe in preparing students for a future shaped by AI and new technologies.

Maths is more than just numbers; it underpins critical thinking, innovation and our ability to solve global challenges. Our economic strength, national security and capability to tackle climate change, disease and technological breakthroughs all depend on robust mathematical sciences. Maths also helps to develop the future of each individual.

I wholeheartedly support this debate from my hon. Friend the Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire. If we get this right, maths will not just be our national strength but secure our national future.

Antisocial Behaviour: Hertfordshire

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Friday 24th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this debate. As a neighbouring Member from Hertfordshire, I know that this is an important issue for our constituents. I recent surveyed high street businesses in my constituency, and they said that one of their biggest issues is antisocial behaviour. Does he agree that this issue also impacts our high streets and businesses?

[David Taylor]

I entirely agree, and I would point to some of the visits I have made to businesses in my constituency because, as the hon. Member will know, there are similar themes. It is a slightly different point, but I am grateful that this Government are planning to bring in new measures to crack down on shoplifting, which is also a big problem and often goes unpunished.

Hemel Hempstead, my community, is in a tough position. In January 2024 we were the worst major town in Hertfordshire for antisocial behaviour, with more than 200 reported incidents. The town centre is one of the most dangerous towns in Hertfordshire. Local stakeholders told me just this morning that Dacorum has the highest number of vulnerable children at risk of exploitation from drug dealers and county lines in the county. The overall crime rate in 2023 was 95 crimes per 1,000 people. Damningly, between 2014 and 2024, the crime rate doubled. On the doorstep and at my surgeries, many Hemel residents have asked me why we are in this mess. I tell them that we had a Conservative Government and, until 2023, a Conservative borough council; we have a Conservative county council and Conservative police and crime commissioner, and we had a Conservative MP.

Home-to-School Transport: Children with SEND

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Mark, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) on securing this debate. Every child, no matter their background, can achieve great things, but sadly there is currently a postcode lottery for SEND provision, which means that a lot of our children are being left behind. The previous Conservative Government failed children with SEND by not planning effectively for the increased demand for SEND school places. One parent from my constituency wrote:

“Please, please help. This is unbelievable. I just can’t cope anymore. It’s looking like you are giving us no choice but to go to tribunal just to get him a school.”

As has been mentioned, this is about a fundamental right to education. The need is rising and the crisis is growing. Ultimately, that means that more children need to have more specific transport. The number of students on EHCPs has doubled from 105,000 eight years ago to 230,000 in 2023. In Hertfordshire, EHCP numbers are expected to continue to grow. The number of children and young people with EHCPs has grown by 223% in Hertfordshire alone. One of my constituents, Charlotte, is a parent to three children, all of whom have EHCPs and complex SEND. She says that being in a constant battle mode has become the norm, and to secure educational support, her eldest child now has to travel almost 100 miles a day just to go to school.

We heard today about children who have to travel one hour and 45 minutes and about Polly and the impact on her parents, and many Members talked about the inconsistency across their constituency and across the country. The growing need and the lack of SEND provision close to home means that getting transport has become increasingly tough. That is exacerbated by cuts to local transport. Many Members have spoken about the impact of this. It is essential that the transport is there to take children to school safely, as it has an impact on their wellbeing.

If there is not a suitable SEND school local to the child, councils are required to provide transport to a school that has capacity but can opt out of the funding, as has been discussed. The number of children travelling to specialist schools has increased by 24% in the last five years. The use of taxis to transport SEND children to and from school increased by 36% between 2019 and 2023. As has been mentioned, even if a child does get transport, they have to be able to rely on it actually being there.

Many Members have talked about cash-strapped councils. Up and down the country, councils were let down by the last Conservative Government and are struggling. Many are filling that financial black hole by charging families of SEND children. A study showed that at least six councils have begun consulting on proposals, with some asking families to pay as much as £933 per year. We heard about Jessica and her son, and other Members highlighted the amount that families are paying.

Ultimately, the rise in transport issues further highlights the issue of SEND provision near to where children live. We were let down by the last Conservative Government, who left SEND provision on its knees, and in Hertfordshire, we were let down by Hertfordshire county council, which had failings identified in a recent report. We are facing a twin crisis in funding special educational needs and local government. Urgent action is needed to ensure that all children can access the tailored learning and support that they need, and as close to home as possible.

That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for local authorities to be given extra funding and for a fairer funding formula on SEND to reduce the amount that schools pay towards EHCPs. We would establish a new national body for SEND to support children with complex and high needs, ending the postcode lottery. At the heart of this issue are our children and their families who want them to reach their full potential. As I said at the beginning, every child can achieve great things, no matter what; we must not let them down.

SEND Provision

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2024 Westminster Hall

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) for securing such an important debate.

An Ofsted report for Hertfordshire deemed that there were widespread systemic failings in the county, and that the area had not acted with the necessary urgency to address long-standing, systemic and significant weaknesses in the area of special educational needs and disability provision. This is reflected again and again in the heartbreaking stories of families across Harpenden and Berkhamsted being let down by a broken system.

One of my constituents, Charlotte, is a parent to three children, all with EHCPs and complex SEND needs. Being in constant battle mode has become the norm for Charlotte and her family in securing educational support, and it has resulted in her eldest child having to travel almost 100 miles a day to get to school. The emotional wellbeing of Charlotte and her children has taken a toll, and her youngest child has barely attended school since October 2023.

Although progress is being made, there is still much more work to do. We have been let down by not only Conservative-led Hertfordshire county council but a flawed national funding formula inherited from the previous Conservative Government. The formula means that children in Hertfordshire receive far less funding per head than in neighbouring Buckinghamshire. Hertfordshire is the third-lowest-funded authority per head for higher needs funding and would receive £85 million more per annum if funded at the same rate as its neighbour.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

With only 3.6% of EHCPs in Conservative-led West Sussex county council being delivered within the statutory 20-week framework, does my hon. Friend agree that funding, which is currently a postcode lottery, needs to be reviewed across the country?

[Victoria Collins]

My hon. Friend took the words right out of my mouth. At the current rate in Hertfordshire it would take 15 years to achieve parity between the two counties. This is a lost generation. A three-year-old in Hertfordshire today with SEND needs would have to finish all their formal education before they would get equal funding to a similar child in Buckinghamshire. The formula has created a postcode lottery for pupils with special educational needs, and it is unacceptable.

Most importantly, we should listen to the experience of local families to truly understand the human cost of the outdated formula. Unfortunately, stories such as Charlotte’s are not isolated cases, as goes for much of what will be shared today. The formula has pushed many families away from their local communities and support networks and into the minefield that is SEND provision. The funding formula must move with the times. It must be updated to reflect the present, increasing demand. So I ask the Minister: when will the Government change the funding formula to reflect the current need?