Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for Education, Health and Care plan assessments in (a) North West Leicestershire constituency and (b) the UK.

The department has invested £1 million through the ‘Delivering Better Value’ programme to support the ‘Transforming SEND and Inclusion in Leicestershire’ programme, which aims to improve how the Leicestershire Area Partnership (LAP) supports children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families. Following the Ofsted inspection published in January 2023, the LAP was required to produce an Accelerated Progress Plan to address systemic weaknesses in the quality of their Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. The department monitors progress against this plan at regular intervals. In addition, the department has commissioned specific support and challenge for the LAP, targeted at improving both the timeliness and quality of EHC plan assessments.

Within the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, the department has set out its proposals for EHC plan reform. The department has co-produced an EHC plan template and supporting guidance, which will shortly be piloted in the Change Programme for local authorities, which, alongside the other measures described in the Improvement Plan, will help create a nationally consistent EHC plan process which makes greater use of digital technology, with the aim to improve the quality, consistency and experience of getting EHC plans.