Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of SEND funding and average waiting times for individuals to be issued with an Education Health and Care Plan in (i) Shropshire and (ii) Telford and Wrekin.

High needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is continuing at an increased level of over £12 billion in the 2026/27 financial year, following an increase of 11% in 2025/26. Of that total, Shropshire County Council is being allocated over £48 million, and Telford and Wrekin Council is being allocated over £42 million.

Local authorities are responsible for carrying out education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments and issuing EHC plans within statutory timescales. The department knows that some children wait too long for their EHC plans and support can come too late. We want things to change, as set out in our recent consultation sharing our proposals for SEND reform. We are committed to working with local authorities to improve the EHC plans process. The department monitors performance through data returns and works with authorities where there are concerns.

The latest published data on EHC plans, released in June 2026 and relating to the 2025 calendar year, shows that 46.1% of new EHC plans nationally were issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe. Shropshire County Council and Telford and Wrekin Council issued 11.9% and 97.3% of plans, respectively, within 20 weeks.