Children with SEND: Assessments and Support Debate
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Lauren Sullivan
Main Page: Lauren Sullivan (Labour - Gravesham)Department Debates - View all Lauren Sullivan's debates with the Department for Education
(1 day, 18 hours ago)
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Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for introducing this important debate. It is not the first time that the Liberal Democrats have highlighted the serious issue of the SEND crisis, and the urgent need to solve it. Since being elected as the Member of Parliament for Woking, I have spoken to 68 parents and carers brought to the brink of despair by fighting tooth and nail every step of the way to ensure that their child gets an education. Their child has disabilities or special educational needs, and that means that the system tries to fight against them, but that is not acceptable.
Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)
Kent county council has spent over £1.1 billion, including in my constituency, on legal fees to fight families. That is nearly 80% of its yearly revenue. Does the hon. Member agree that, for parents and families up against that system, the money would be better spent on provision for their children?
Mr Forster
I completely agree with the hon. Member. The system that we have all inherited from the previous Government fails vulnerable children and their families, and it fails taxpayers as well. Education is a right; it should not have to be fought for.
Data from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman shows that the number of complaints and inquiries about SEND has surged in the last few years. There is a national crisis, whether that is in the lack of school places, support or just not keeping up with demand. Things are especially bad in my constituency of Woking. The Conservatives running Surrey county council are the worst offenders, according to the ombudsman. It has received an unacceptable 348 complaints about my local county council, which is the highest number in England over six years. It is a failing institution.
That level of complaint, whether in Surrey or across the country, shows why parents must have a legal right—the importance of having an ECHP has already been highlighted, and I will say a bit more—and why they feel they need that right to fight the system. They are really worried that their right will be revoked or restricted by upcoming legislation. Whatever the changes introduced by the new Government look like, they must give families the right they deserve, and a choice and hope for the education of their child.