Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his department's timescale is for publishing the finding of the major review into support for special educational needs announced on 6 September 2019.

The review into support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is a major priority for the government. We all want to see the vision of the 2014 reforms fully delivered, with better outcomes for children and young people, co-produced with them and their families, which prepare them for adulthood.

The COVID-19 outbreak has been extremely challenging for many families of children with SEND. Supporting them continues to be a priority for this government, and their wellbeing has been central to our response throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

The COVID-19 outbreak has unavoidably delayed completion of the review and altered the context in which it will be implemented. Our ambition is to publish proposals for public consultation in the spring of 2021 and we are working to understand how to structure that so that everyone can fully participate in it.