Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mechanisms are in place to monitor local authorities’ compliance with statutory duties relating to high needs element 3 funding; and whether her Department plans to strengthen oversight to ensure that all eligible students receive appropriate support in a timely manner.

Where a child or young person with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) has an education, health and care (EHC) plan, the local authority must secure the special educational provision specified in the plan. The allocation of top-up funding to the school or college often helps secure that provision.

Our national guidance on allocation of high needs top-up funding (sometimes called element 3) is set out in section 7 of the 2026 to 2027 high needs funding operational guide here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2026-to-2027/high-needs-funding-2026-to-2027-operational-guide#highneedstopfunding. This includes guidance that local authorities should collaborate with neighbouring local authorities when reviewing and developing their top-up funding bands, with a view to bringing more consistency to the levels of top-up funding for schools and colleges used routinely for placements by more than one local authority. The guidance also refers to conditions of grant that require local authorities to make timely payments of top-up funding.

In February, we launched our SEND reform consultation to build on existing good practice and improve inclusivity and support in schools and colleges. These include reforms to the allocation of funding and to accountability, which will create a simpler, fairer and more collaborative system focused on outcomes, replacing bureaucracy with clarity and trust.