Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2014 to Question 216048, what advice her Department gives to local authorities to ensure that the local offer is responsive to local needs.

Local authorities are legally required to have regard to the advice in the special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice in carrying out their duties under the Children and Families Act 2014, including those in respect of the local offer.

The code of practice (paragraphs 4.1 to 4.28 in particular) makes clear that local authorities must review their local offer in consultation with children and young people with SEND and the parents of children with SEND. It also makes clear that local authorities must publish comments from children, parents and young people about the local offer and publish the action they intend to take in response to those comments. This will help to ensure that local offers are responsive to local needs.