Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Inclusion Bases she is planning for schools in the Witham constituency in each of the next five years; and what funding is being made available to finance them.

As a core component of our £3.7 billion high needs capital settlement, the department will invest in a transformational expansion of inclusion bases.

This funding is allocated to local authorities, who know their schools and will determine how best to spend funding to meet local need. In the 2026/27 financial year, Essex has been allocated £21.2 million for high needs provision capital allocation.

Provision is currently inconsistent across the country, which is why we are also going to improve data collection on which schools have inclusion bases so we can make sure that all pupils are given the support they need.

For the first time, departmental guidance has been produced to help settings and local authorities set up and deliver high-quality provision in inclusion bases, as well as support improvement of existing bases.