Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 22145, how many times in each of the last five years her Department has used its statutory powers to intervene directly in local authority SEND services; and in which local authorities.

In the last five years, the department has issued 25 Improvement Notices, including revised Improvement Notices, to local authorities to improve special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services for children and young people.

Improvement Notices were issued to North Somerset (2021), Devon (2022), Kent, Plymouth, Oxfordshire and Oldham (2023), Hertfordshire, Halton, Bexley, Wirral, Suffolk, North Northamptonshire, Bury, West Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and Derbyshire (2024), Lancashire, Wirral (revised), Bracknell Forest, Tameside (initial and revised), Redbridge, Sheffield and Torbay (2025), and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (2026). Five of these Improvement Notices have since closed: Kent, Plymouth, Oxfordshire, Oldham and Hertfordshire.

The department has also issued three Statutory Directions over the same period to Birmingham (2021), Slough and Bournemouth (2023), Christchurch and Poole (2024). The Statutory Direction for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole closed in 2026, and an Improvement Notice was issued.

Further information on all open and closed Improvement Notices and Statutory Directions for SEND services can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/improvement-notices.