Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of continuing the use of Education, Health and Care Plans to support children who have Special Education Needs and Disabilities with a guaranteed right to support.

The department is determined to restore confidence in the system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), so that all children and young people get the chance to achieve and thrive in their education. Our aim is to improve educational outcomes.

The department is working with and listening to parents, local authorities, SEND organisations, education settings and others on how best we can strengthen the SEND system. We want to deliver better support for these vulnerable children and young people and their parents, and we are committed to getting this right. We will continue with this engagement over the summer, in preparation for consultation on a Schools White Paper in the autumn.

We have made no decisions yet on the future of education, health and care plans. There will, however, always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND.