Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding allocations her Department is providing to Leicester City Council to support its August 2026 expansion of specialist SEND places in mainstream schools, and what assessment she has made of teacher training capacity for SEND inclusion in Leicester East.

The department is investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding nationally between the 2025/2026 and 2029/2030 financial years, to support local authorities to provide places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), or who require alternative provision.

Leicester has been allocated just over £3.9 million in the 2025/26 financial year and just under £4.5 million in the 2026/27 financial year through High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA). In addition, Leicester is receiving £3.24 million through the Experts at Hand offer, which is supporting earlier access to specialist advice and support for children and young people with SEND in mainstream settings.

We will publish allocations for 2027/28 in spring 2027.

The department has not made an assessment of the teacher training capacity for SEND inclusion in Leicester East specifically. We are, however, investing over £200 million nationally over three years on inclusion training packages, and there will be a new requirement set out in the SEND Code of Practice for all settings, to ensure that staff receive training on SEND and inclusion.