Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to (a) require local authorities to ask parents who request an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) form whether or not English is their first language and (b) offer additional language support to parents throughout the EHCP process.

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to have regard to the importance of the child or young person, and the child’s parents, participating as fully as possible in decisions, and being provided with the information and support necessary to enable participation in those decisions. All local authorities must have arrangements for information and advice and should ensure that advice and guidance for children and young people is tailored appropriately for them. All local authorities must publish a local offer about all their services. One of the requirements of local offers is that they must be accessible to the local population, which does include ensuring access those for whom English is not their first language. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice also makes clear that the format of an education, health and care (EHC) plan is agreed locally. Local authorities must decide on the languages that EHC plans are available in, depending on local need.

In addition, it is the department’s aim, through the proposals set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper to provide parents and carers with a clearer understanding of the support that should be available to meet their child’s needs. This includes a proposal to standardise the EHC plan process to drive consistency in how needs are identified and assessed. The public consultation for the Green Paper is due to close on 22 July 2022.