Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken for education, health and care plans on children not in school (a) nationally and (b) in Cambridgeshire.

All pupils of compulsory school age are entitled to a full-time education. For those who would not get this at school because of illness, exclusion or other reasons, local authorities must arrange suitable alternative education.

Where a child may require an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, the department wants to ensure that these are progressed and, if an EHC plan is needed, it is issued promptly so that the child can access the support they need. EHC plans must be issued within 20 weeks of the needs assessment commencing.

The department works with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness, helping them to identify barriers and put in place an effective recovery plan, including securing specialist special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) adviser support where needed.

The department does not collect data specifically regarding the time taken by local authorities to issue an EHC plan for children who are not in school.

Data shows that in 2023, 64.9% of plans in Cambridgeshire were issued within 20 weeks and 2.6% of all new plans in Cambridgeshire were issued for children and young people who were ‘educated elsewhere’. This includes those who were not in school at the time.

Nationally, 50.3% of plans were issued within 20 weeks and 3.1% of all new EHC plans were issued for children and young people who were ‘educated elsewhere’ in 2023.

Data for 2024 will be published in June.