Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 11th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend is right. We recognise the disproportionate financial strain on families with disabled children, who often face significantly higher costs for essentials. We heard that during the development of the child poverty strategy, through many of the children’s rights groups and other organisations that contributed to that work. Our child poverty strategy sets out a plan to lift over half a million children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament. Alongside that, we are taking specific steps to support children with additional needs, providing £200 million of investment to ensure that every Best Start family hub has a dedicated practitioner for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for her answers, her positivity, and her commitment to making the necessary changes. When it comes to inequalities in the home, cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and behavioural issues, are so much higher in number than they ever were in my day when I was a youngster—and that was not yesterday, by the way. Given the pressures of the lives we live today, what will be done to help those categories of children in particular?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this area. It is why, through our SEND consultation that will cover England, we want to make sure that support is available to children much more quickly. Of course, formal diagnosis will continue to have an important role and families will seek that, but we should not be waiting for diagnosis to put in place the support that children need. That is why, through the big investment we are delivering in SEND—an extra £4 billion—we will make sure that children get the support when they need it and where they need it.