Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to tackle delays to education and health plans.

The special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice makes clear that local authorities must give their decision in response to any request for an education, health and care needs assessment within a maximum of 6 weeks from when the request was received or the point at which a child or young person was brought to the local authority’s attention. The department is aware of the evidence in recently published reports by Ofsted and the Disabled Children’s Partnership that the COVID-19 outbreak disproportionately affected children with disabilities and had a detrimental effect on the well-being of their families. The department recognises that improvement is needed so that the system works better for children and their families.

Steps that the department are taking to tackle delays include:

• Providing support and challenge to those local authorities where there are long-standing delays.
• The department's team of SEND advisers and colleagues in NHS England continuing to work with local areas where delays are identified through the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspection programme.
• For some local authorities, the department commissions specialist support from our delivery partners, such as the Council for Disabled Children.
• The department delivers training programmes to local authorities, health and social care staff across the country on their statutory assessment duties.

The government’s review of the SEND system is making progress in identifying improvements needed to secure lasting and tangible change, drawing on significant input from a wide range of organisations, children, young people and parents. Proposals for consultation will be published in the first three months of 2022.