Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the time taken to publish the Schools White Paper on (a) schools and (b) pupils in South Suffolk constituency.

The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ Schools White Paper and the SEND Consultation Document set out our plans to build an education system that ensures children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) get the right support at every stage of their education.

We are consulting on the reforms in the publication. You can access the consultation here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-strategy-division/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-firs/.

Mainstream school funding allocations through the national funding formula for 2026/27 were published in November 2025, and incorporated in the 2026/27 dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocations to local authorities, published to the normal timescale in December 2025. This school funding is increasing by 2.6% per pupil in 2026/27 compared to 2025/26. High needs funding also allocated within local authorities’ DSG, which includes funding for special schools, was increased by over £1 billion, or 11%, in 2025/26. Funding will continue at this increased level in 2026/27.

On top of these allocations announced in 2025, we are investing £4 billion over three years to build an inclusive mainstream system. This includes £1.6 billion for a new Inclusive Mainstream Fund from 2026/27 for mainstream schools and other educational settings, with over £500 million per year over the next three years.