Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on what (a) oversight and (b) scrutiny there is over Surrey County Council's education department.

In terms of educational performance of schools maintained by local authorities, the department exercises oversight of the performance of schools, informed by Ofsted’s inspections, rather than of local authority education departments. The department’s support and intervention guidance sets out the roles and responsibilities of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and local authorities in relation to school performance. It sets out expectations about how the local authorities will work with the department to support underperforming schools.

In relation to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service delivery, the department and NHS England have been supporting local areas to improve for a number of years. This includes monitoring, support and challenge following an inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission that identifies areas for improvement.

Surrey’s most recent local area SEND inspection was in September 2023 and found that the local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people. The department, working alongside NHS England, has put in place systems to track the progress that the Surrey Partnership is making against these areas for improvement and offer support. For example, the department has appointed a SEND advisor who will continue to provide support and advice to the local authority as they make improvements.