Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of specialist SEND school places that would be required to meet demand in Surrey Heath constituency.

For the first time in 2023, the School Capacity Survey (SCAP) asked local authorities to provide data on the capacity of special schools and the capacity of special educational needs units and resourced provision in mainstream schools.

The department now have a second year’s worth of data which tells us approximately how many places local authorities think were available on 1 May 2024. This is only approximate at the moment as it is the second year of data collection, and the data are still being developed in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The survey also asked local authorities to submit forecasts for the number of pupils with education, health and care plans resident in their local authority who are expected to need a place in specialist provision.

Specialist capacity and forecast data for all local authorities can be accessed on GOV.UK here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity/2023-24.