Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will pause the safety valve scheme until it's review is published.

Over time, 38 local authorities have been supported to manage their high needs budgets through the Safety Valve programme. We will continue to work with local authorities with Safety Valve agreements to deliver their plans, and to provide the additional funding support set out in those agreements where plans are being delivered. The department has already said that it will not enter into any more Safety Valve agreements, pending wider reform of the whole system to prioritise early intervention, properly supporting councils to bring their finances under control.