Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support the improvement of local authority-run services for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The Children and Families Act (2014) introduced a range of additional duties for local authorities in relation to services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We have invested heavily in training and support for local authorities to take on their new responsibilities and improve their services. This includes funding training and resources on education, health and care planning; leadership skills; joint commissioning of services; and effectively engaging with children, young people and their families to deliver a service that meets their needs. We are also working with IPSEA (Independent Parental Special Education Advice) to deliver legal training for local authorities on the implications of the SEND reforms, and are funding peer support via a network of local authority regional coordinators.

High needs funding has risen by £1 billion since 2013, to just under £6 billion this year and on 17 December 2018, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced additional high needs funding for local authorities of £125 million in 2018-19 and £125 million in 2019-20 to help local councils manage the increasing costs of provision for children and young people with SEND. He also announced a further £100 million top-up to the special provision capital fund for in 2019-20, to take the total investment to £365 million across 2018 to 2021. This will help local authorities invest in improved facilities and additional school and college places for children and young people with SEND.

Since May 2016, we have been funding Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to inspect local areas (the local authority and relevant commissioning health bodies) on how they are fulfilling their duties for children and young people with SEND. All 152 areas will be inspected over 5 years and where weaknesses are identified by the inspectors, areas are being supported by the Department for Education and NHS England regional SEND advisers to develop and implement an improvement plan known as a written statement of action (WSOA). Inspections are identifying a wide range of strengths, as well as areas for improvements and are acting as a real driver for change. Revisits by Ofsted and the CQC to those areas with a WSOA are helping to ensure than momentum is maintained.