Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how Integrated Care Boards collect sufficient data to support the commissioning of services for disabled children.

Integrated care systems are designed to join-up the commissioning of health, social care services and other system partners to meet the population health needs. These needs are assessed in the data-driven joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs), prepared by Health and Wellbeing Boards. Government guidance on the preparation of JSNAs states that they should include the needs of children with disabilities and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within these assessments. Integrated care boards and local authorities must have regard to these assessments when carrying out their functions, including commissioning.