Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the guidance entitled Experts at Hand: developing and delivering the offer in year 1, published on 5 June 2026, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children with selective mutism requiring (a) individualised speech and language therapy and (b) specialist mental health support can access appropriate services beyond those directly funded through Experts at Hand; how local areas will be expected to specify those referral arrangements within their published offers; and what data will be collected nationally to assess variation in access between local areas.

Where a child with selective mutism requires individualised speech and language therapy or specialist mental health support beyond the Experts at Hand offer, local authorities and Integrated Care Boards will remain responsible for jointly commissioning appropriate provision and ensuring that established clinical and statutory referral routes remain available. Experts at Hand should complement rather than replace existing statutory and specialist services.

Local partnerships will be expected to align Experts at Hand with services such as Mental Health Support Teams through a joined-up ‘team around the setting’ approach, to ensure children and young people are referred promptly to the right level of expertise.

Local areas will be responsible for planning and monitoring delivery in line with local need and workforce capacity. Nationally, the department will continue to monitor growth in relevant health and education specialist workforces.

Additionally, support will be delivered through the National Inclusion Standards. These will include universal whole-school approaches to support inclusion alongside targeted support for children and young people, including those with selective mutism and associated conditions. This will be supported by up to £15 million by 2028 to strengthen the evidence base and develop the standards.

Specialist provision packages will also provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs.