Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund were made in Cambridgeshire in each year between 2014-15 and 2024-25 inclusive.

Since the 2017/18 financial year, all local authorities have been required to have a special educational needs inclusion fund (SENIF) for all eligible children for the entitlements and who have special educational needs.

Local authorities should establish their SENIFs using funding from the early years block and/or the high needs block of their dedicated schools grant, considering pressures on high needs and early years budgets locally.

The department gives local authorities the autonomy to set SENIF budgets and to decide on eligibility criteria locally, as they are best placed to meet local need. The department does not collect information on how many applications are made to local authorities.