Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to fund services for deaf learners in (a) Yeovil constituency (b) Somerset and (c) England.

The department wants every child to have the best start in life, with support available earlier and closer to home when families need it. We will ensure children receive the right support in their early years setting, school or college, supported by investment in training for staff and access to expert professional advice such as specialist teachers and speech and language therapists.

We are investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to deliver a new Experts at Hand offer. This includes a provisional allocation of £3.6 million in the 2026/27 financial year for Somerset local authority This will strengthen mainstream settings by providing access to health and specialist education expertise.

Experts at Hand is additional to existing statutory provision and does not replace established school-led approaches or specialist services. Deaf children and young people will continue to receive specialist support, alongside benefiting from earlier advice, training and targeted support.