Christmas Adjournment

Zöe Franklin Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)]

I will use my time in this debate to raise an issue that we have heard so much about over the last six months: the crisis in special educational needs. Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting a coffee morning held by Family Voice in my constituency of Guildford. I was honoured to hear some stories from a group of mums who shared their experiences relating to their children’s journeys, and trying to get support for those young people. Every single one of them stressed to me how challenging those journeys have been, with emails going unanswered; caseworkers who go on holiday and never come back; months—sometimes years—of their children not being able to attend education; thousands of pounds spent on private assessments to get the support that their children need, or appealing decisions made by the local authority; and fighting every day to be heard, and the exhaustion that that brings.

The thing that distressed me most was the moment when one mum shared that, as a result of the whole process, she had considered suicide. Then another mum said the same thing. How are we in a position that the process that is designed to support and provide for young people is creating so much distress that families are at breaking point and even considering ending their own lives? I am deeply grateful to Education Ministers for making it very clear that the Government are committed to addressing the SEND crisis, and I hope to be able to work with the Government to address it in 2025.

I will tell the House two very quick stories to emphasise how desperately the situation needs to change. The first is that of a 17-year-old woman in my constituency who has been out of school for five and a half years. She was not able to do her GCSEs. She was given a placement in October at a place where she has thrived. She has said herself that she has felt seen and has found her community, but that placement has not yet been renewed by the local authority. She has been failed, and the hope that was there has potentially been ripped away.

The second story is that of a nine-year-old boy with autism and pathological demand avoidance. The local authority, Surrey, sent him to an independent school in 2022 to provide for his needs. That school has now said that it cannot provide for those needs. It has removed his placement and said that it will not hold the place while his family try to find a school. I find that deeply unacceptable. They are apparently not the only family who has experienced that off-rolling, but Surrey says that the families have elected to home-school. Will the Minister ask a colleague to meet me to discuss the practice of off-rolling, which I am sure is happening not just in my own constituency?

I reiterate that so many of us will have received deeply distressing emails seeking support from our residents. These are the people who are able to advocate for themselves. How many families are unable, for various reasons, to advocate for themselves? As we try to fix the SEND crisis, we must remember that we do so not just for the families we hear from every day in our inboxes. At the moment, I have nearly 50 separate cases, but we are also seeking to fix the crisis for those families we do not know about. I hope that we will be able to work across the House in 2025 to fix this crisis, because we cannot and must not continue to allow our children to be failed.

VAT: Independent Schools

Zöe Franklin Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Munira Wilson]

I point out for a start that when the Liberal Democrats were in government, school budgets increased in real terms, and we introduced the pupil premium to help the most disadvantaged children. When the Tories were left to their own devices, they slashed budgets, and the pupil premium has been devalued over the years.

[Zöe Franklin (Guildford) (LD)]

I just want to return briefly to the topic of EHCPs. We all know that there is a crisis in special educational needs. In my own constituency, a quarter of pupils attend an independent school. At least 700 or more students do not have an EHCP. Those parents who are paying for places at private schools desperately want to get support for their children. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is crucial, if the Government insist on pursuing an ill thought-through policy that impacts on children with special educational needs, that all children with diagnosed educational needs—with or without an EHCP—and those eligible for disability allowance should be exempt from that VAT?

[Munira Wilson]

I would rather the Government do not go through with this policy at all and drop it, but if they insist on pressing ahead with it, all children with special educational needs, whether or not they are on the SEND register—they can be identified in other ways—should be exempted.

I will share a story from a constituent who contacted me recently. They have two children, both of whom have complex learning needs and have struggled to thrive in their local state school. After moving to a private school that was better able to support them, they are finally making progress and most importantly, to quote the parent, they

“don’t feel like they are failing”.

The children’s family has made huge financial sacrifices to give them this education, including remortgaging their home and cashing in pension plans. As this policy is set to be introduced in the middle of the school year, this family and thousands of others have little time to prepare or save. It will be disruptive for children who have already suffered enough disruption to their education in recent years. This parent who contacted me told me:

“We are terrified of the prospect of having to uproot our children for a second time because we can’t see a way to afford this rise.”

Labour’s rushed-through and ill thought-through plans will snatch opportunities away from thousands of children just like my constituents.