Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on improving integration between health services and local authority provision in the development of education, health and care plans.

Statutory duties are clear that health and local authorities must ensure the integration of educational and training provision with health and social care provision. They must also make joint commissioning arrangements with other local partners about the education, health and care provision to be secured for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission provide an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnerships’ commissioning arrangements with an emphasis on the outcomes being achieved for children and young people with SEND. Where appropriate, they recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.

Where partners do not meet their duties, the department can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. We work to monitor, support and challenge local authorities, working closely with NHS England to tackle weaknesses that sit with health partners.

The government is urgently looking at the SEND system and how it needs to be reformed. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care met with Cabinet colleagues earlier this month to discuss SEND system improvements.