Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the Comprehensive Spending Review allows education, health and social care agencies to have the resources necessary to (a) meet the legal timescales for Education, Health and Care Plan assessments and (b) deliver the support for disabled children identified in those assessments.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 make clear that local authorities must complete an education, health, and care plan (EHCP) assessment within twenty weeks from when the request is received, unless certain prescribed exceptional circumstances that are spelt out in paragraph 9:42 of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice, apply.

We use data to monitor local authority performance and to provide challenge and support to those local authorities where there are long-standing delays. Each year we also deliver a training programme to local authorities, health, and social care staff on their statutory duties for EHCPs and reviews, and we have continued to do this on a virtual basis.

In addition, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission re-started their revisit programme to areas that received a Written Statement of Action in May, with the full inspection programme re-starting in June. Our team of SEND advisers and colleagues in NHS England are continuing to work with authorities with a Written Statement of Action to help improve performance.

More broadly, The Department for Education is currently undertaking a review of the SEND system, which is making good progress in identifying the reforms needed to ensure that schools and colleges are able to deliver the support for disabled children identified through those assessments, with the appropriate interventions from health and social care agencies.