Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities are in receipt of the education, care and funding that they need.

As a result of the autumn 2021 Spending Review, by financial year 2024-25 the core schools’ budget will have increased by more than £7 billion, compared to 2021-22. This includes an additional £1.6 billion next year for schools and for the children and young people with more complex needs who are supported by high needs funding, as well as the £2.4 billion increase already planned as a result of the previous Spending Review. As a result, we were able to announce on 16 December that high needs funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing in the next financial year 2022-23 by £1 billion to over £9.1 billion.

This unprecedented increase in high needs funding of 13% comes on top of the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years and will continue to support local authorities and schools with the increasing costs they are facing. York will attract an increase of 12.5% per head of their 2-18 population next year, compared to the current financial year’s allocation, bringing their total high needs funding allocation in 2022-23 to £25 million.

Alongside additional funding, we have made significant progress with the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review. My right hon friend, the Secretary of State for Education, committed at the Education Select Committee on 3 November 2021 that we would publish proposals for full public consultation in the first three months of this year.