Question to the Department for Education:

What steps she is taking to support local authorities to meet the cost of providing school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

We are providing high needs funding of £5.84 billion to local authorities this year, rising to £5.97 billion next year, to help local councils support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Earlier this year we gave local councils £23 million to support a strategic review of their special provision, and have allocated £215 million of capital funding to enable local councils to create more places for those with special educational needs and disabilities.