Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of Friday 26 January 2018 to Question 123604, on Special Educational Needs, if he will publish the ministerial letters sent to local authorities inspected under the Ofsted/Care Quality Commission Special Educational Needs and Disability inspection framework, that had significant weaknesses; and what steps are being taken to monitor the progress of those local authorities that were not required to produce a Written Statement of Action.

The department’s policy is for ministers to write to local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups in all local areas shortly after the publication of their inspection report. Ministers write again, a year later, to areas where inspectors identified significant concerns, to reflect on the progress made. These letters form part of our work to support and challenge the work of local leaders as they improve services; and to recognise where services have improved.

We have no plans to publish these letters, which are copied to all relevant MPs and the Leader of the Council, but they are intended for public use. In areas where inspectors identified significant concerns, we copy the letters to all relevant MPs and the Leader of the Council. We encourage local council leaders to share the letters with their partners, including parents, to inform and support their work to improve services. Some areas, for example, Rochdale and Surrey, have published these ministerial letters and I would encourage others to do the same.

We have been encouraged by the commitment of council leaders to using the local area Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) inspections as a catalyst to improve services. The government recently provided a further £29 million (in addition to £223 million since 2014) to support local authorities with ongoing implementation of the SEND reforms. The department will also continue to provide funding of £2.3 million per year for parent carer forums in 2018-19 and 2019-20, as well as specialist SEND advisers to work directly with local authorities, to hold services to account and support them to improve.

In those local areas where inspectors have not requested a written statement of action, we follow up on the strengths and areas for development as part of on-going local area performance monitoring. We also draw on a wide range of intelligence, including surveys; research; and feedback, including from parents and the specialist SEND advisers. Where local area performance, such as the commissioning of services, is a particular concern, officials work closely with partners, including the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, to engage jointly with local areas to provide support and challenge.