Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of places available in special education schools in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that there is a school place available for every child. The Children and Families Act 2014 also requires local authorities to work with parents, young people, and providers to keep the provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities under review, including its sufficiency.

Coventry received £44.6 million of basic need funding to provide new school places from 2011-2018, and has been allocated a further £16.1 million from 2018-2021. Local authorities in the West Midlands received a total of £645.3 million of basic need funding to provide new school places from 2011-2018, and have been allocated a further £304.8 million from 2018-2021. Local authorities can use their basic need funding to expand any school in their area, including specialist provision, as well as to create new schools.

The department has also allocated £265 million of special provision capital funding to help build new places at mainstream and special schools, and to improve existing facilities. Coventry has been allocated £2.9 million from this fund, in addition to their basic need funding. Local authorities in the West Midlands have been allocated £21.3 million.