SEND Provision
Debate between Victoria Collins and Jess Brown-Fuller(3 months ago)
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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?