Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's press release, Prime Minister boosts schools with £14 billion package, published on 30 August 2019, when the £700 million for children with special educational needs will be allocated; and whether that funding will be ring-fenced.

On 11 October 2019 we notified local authorities of their provisional allocations of high needs funding for the next financial year 2020-21, which included an additional £780 million, compared to their 2019-20 allocations. This additional £780 million will not be ring-fenced within the total high needs funding allocations to local authorities, which will rise to over £7 billion next year. The high needs allocations will form part of the dedicated schools grant to local authorities, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2020-to-2021.

The dedicated schools grant is ring-fenced and has to be spent by local authorities on education in accordance with the regulations and conditions of the grant.