Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information he holds on the amount that Gloucestershire County Council has spent on legal activity regarding education, health and care plans in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

The Department for Education does not collect specific information regarding the amounts that local authorities spend on legal activity around education, health and care (EHC) plans.

Local authorities must adhere to legal requirements when making EHC needs assessments, when producing EHC plans and when meeting challenges from parents, young people and others. These are set out in the Children and Families Act (2014), supporting regulations and the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.