Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of multi‑agency information‑sharing protocols between local authorities, schools and health bodies in the EHC needs assessment process.

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice sets out the importance of information sharing across education, health and social care to support effective needs assessments and planning processes.

The department is determined to restore confidence in the system of support for children and young people with SEND and ensure they get the chance to achieve and thrive in their education and beyond, as set out in the recently published SEND reform consultation document, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first.

We are committed to co-designing the future needs assessment process with parents, local authorities and experts to make sure we get it right. We continue to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with their education, health and care plan processes. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help the local authority to identify the problems and put in place an effective recovery plan.