Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the Government's policy is on secondary school inclusion; and how that policy has been taken account of in the new funding formula.

We are committed to an inclusive education for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and progressively removing the barriers to education and participation in mainstream education. The Children and Families Act 2014 secures the general presumption in law of mainstream education in relation to decisions about where children and young people with special educational needs should be educated; and the Equality Act 2010 provides protection from discrimination for disabled people. The 2014 Act also requires local authorities to ensure the views, wishes and feelings of children, young people and parents are taken into account when deciding what support children and young people with SEND need.

The introduction of national funding formulae for schools and high needs is supported by significant extra investment of £1.3 billion across 2018-19 and 2019-20, over and above the budget announcement at the 2015 spending review. We are therefore able to provide additional funding for every school and allocate extra high needs funding to every local authority, both of which will support schools in providing for their pupils, including those with SEND. Both schools and high needs national funding formulae reflect the number of children and young people with SEND who are attending mainstream or specialist provision.