Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the replacement of Statements of Special Educational Needs, with Education, Health and Care Plans.

The government has provided significant resources to support implementation of the Special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms. This includes £223 million to local councils between April 2014 and March 2018 and, during the same period, £60 million for around 1,200 Independent Supporters to help families with the Education Health and Care (EHC) plan process. Councils are making encouraging progress, but there is still work to be done to fully embed this improved system. That is why the government announced on 30 November an additional package of support worth nearly £45 million to provide help for children and young people with SEND. This included a further £29 million to support councils and their local partners to continue pressing ahead with implementation of the reforms to the SEND system beyond the end of the transition period.

We are beginning to see some positive feedback on EHC plans from parents and young people. A large-scale survey, published in March 2017, of over 13,000 families who gained an EHC plan in 2015 found that two thirds were satisfied with the overall experience of getting a plan, and three-fifths agreed the help and support set out in the plan will achieve the desired outcomes.

Where there are delays with any aspect of the EHC process, including issuing an EHC plan and delivering the provision set out in it, the local council should work with the family, explain the reason for the delay and address the situation swiftly. We know that sometimes issues cannot be immediately resolved and we have made available to families, in every local council, mediation services, as well as support from Independent Supporters and Information Advice and Support Services. Where issues regarding the EHC plan cannot be resolved, families can also appeal to the SEND Tribunal.