Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of occasions on which local authorities failed to implement an order of the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) within the applicable time limit under regulation 44 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) local authority, (b) type of order, (c) length of delay and (d) whether the appeal had been conceded by the local authority.

It is essential that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the provision specified in their education, health and care plan, and that local authorities meet their statutory responsibilities, including complying with SEND Tribunal orders.

The department has never collected the data requested. However, as part of our SEND reforms, we set out proposals to improve parental confidence that local authorities will act on Tribunal judgments and to ensure that improvements are made to future decision-making. This includes publishing an annual SEND Tribunal outcomes dashboard, providing anonymised outcomes of SEND Tribunals by local authority.

We are currently considering all consultation feedback and will publish final proposals in due course.