Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his polices of the backlog in Education, Health and Care Plan assessments for disabled children.

The department does not collect data on the backlog of educational, health and care plan (EHCP) assessments. However, the department uses data to monitor and assess implications of departmental policy through local authority performance and has been supporting local authorities to meet their statutory duties for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including by providing challenge and support to those local authorities where there are long-standing delays.

Due to circumstances relating to the COVID-19 outbreak, the department is carrying out monthly surveys of local authority performance. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) continue with their full inspection programme and our team of SEND advisers and colleagues in NHS England are continuing to provide support and challenge to help improve performance.

Depending on the underlying issues that each authority faces, such as those relating to EHCP assessments, we commission specialist and regional support from our delivery partners or facilitate peer to peer support. The department has commissioned the CQC and Ofsted, with the support of the Department of Health and Social Care, to develop a new area SEND inspection framework. We will ensure the new framework aligns with any recommendations from the SEND Review, proposals from which will be published in a green paper for public consultation in the first 3 months of this year. It remains our priority that local areas provide the right services at the right time for children and young people with SEND.