Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that there is equal service provision by local authorities for the (a) issuing and (b) delivery of education, health and care plans.

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to work with a wide range of partners, including schools and colleges, health and social care partners and, crucially, parents and young people, to develop their Local Offer of services and provision for special educational needs (SEN). This recognises the differing circumstances of each local area and places decision-making with the local authority. In responding to different local needs, the department would expect to see variation in the way needs are met across local authorities, including variation in the rates of education, health and care (EHC) plans.

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have SEN that require an EHC plan. A local authority must conduct an EHC needs assessment if the child or young person has or may have SEN and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made in accordance with an EHC plan.

If the local authority issues an EHC plan, it must secure the special educational provision it specifies, working with its health and social care partners, who have separate duties.

Local authorities identified as having issues with EHC plan timeliness are subject to additional monitoring by the department who work with the specific local authority. Where the department has concerns about the local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, it has secured specialist special educational needs and disabilities advisor support to help identify the barriers to EHC plan process timeliness and put in place practical plans for recovery.