Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help Leeds City Council increase its capacity to undertake its education, health and care plan assessments.

Where local authorities are failing to deliver consistent outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including failing to produce timely Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessments, the department works with them using a range of improvement programmes and SEND specialist advisors to address weaknesses. Leeds City Council is receiving support from a specialist SEND advisor and the department will continue to work with the local authority in order to monitor the issuing of completed plans.

High needs funding is increasing to over £10.5 billion this financial year, 2024/25, which is an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 allocations. Of this, through their 2024/25 dedicated schools grant, Leeds City Council is due to receive a high needs funding allocation of £134.6 million in 2024/25. This is a cumulative increase of 36% per head over the three years from 2021/22. This funding will continue to help with the costs of supporting children and young people with SEND, including those with EHC plans.

The department’s ‘SEND and alternative provision Improvement Plan’ recognised the need to reduce delays in children and young people receiving timely assessments and support and has a clear focus on early intervention. Through the Change Programme, in which Leeds City Council is a supporting partner, the department is testing a range of reforms to improve the EHC plan process, including standardised templates and guidance, the use of multi-agency panels to improve decision-making, digital reforms and strengthened mediation arrangements.

The department is further investing over £21 million to train 400 educational psychologists from September 2024. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training last September. Since 2020, the department has increased the number of course places funded, from 160 to over 200 per year. As these cohorts begin to graduate, they will enter the workforce, supporting local authority educational psychology services and contributing to statutory assessments.