Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to improve SEND provision in Suffolk; and if he will make a statement.

Our ambition is for every local authority and Clinical Commissioning Group to deliver a high-quality service for every child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission conduct inspections of SEND services in local areas. Their inspection of Suffolk published in 2017 and subsequent revisit published in 2019 found strengths and improvements over time, but there remained a number of areas of significant weakness where sufficient progress had not been made.

Where we have concerns with performance, as there are with Suffolk, the Department for Education works with partners, including NHS England, to support and challenge local areas to improve. This includes regular advice and monitoring from the Department for Education and NHS England advisers as well as access to funded training opportunities and resources. Whilst there is more to be done, we welcome the progress being made and will continue to monitor the position closely.

In addition, in 2020-21, Suffolk will be receiving £74.9 million for its high needs budget, an increase of 17% per head of population aged 2-18 years old.