Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities which have seen a significant rise in the number of children with special educational needs.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced in a written ministerial statement on Monday 17 December that we will provide additional high needs funding to all local authorities, totalling £250 million over 2018-19 and 2019-20. This brings the total allocated for children and young people with more complex special educational needs and disabilities to £6.1 billion this year, up by over £1 billion from the £5 billion allocated in 2013. This additional investment will help to support local councils manage the increasing costs of provision for these pupils and students.

​We have also announced a further £100 million top-up to the Special Provision Capital Fund in 2019-20 to take our total investment to £365 million across 2018-21. This additional funding will give more children access to a good school or college place and pay for more state-of-the-art facilities, such as sensory rooms and specialist equipment.