Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to provide more funding for deaf people to procure the services of interpreters.

Local authorities have clear duties to support children with special educational needs (SEN). They are responsible for planning and delivering the necessary services for children within their area.

The Children and Families Act enables a joined-up approach to support children with sensory impairments, with clear information on the support that families can expect locally and the option of a personal budget for some parents and young people to give them control over the support they receive.

The Department for Education funds the National Sensory Impairment Partnership (NatSIP) to support local authorities to benchmark and improve the support available for children with sensory impairments. NatSIP is working with sensory support services across the country to support the SEN reforms. NatSIP helps local authorities and settings ensure that the right support is in place to improve the outcomes for deaf, blind and multi-sensory impaired children.