Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will increase the amount of funding paid to mainstream schools for each pupil they have with special educational needs; and if she will make a statement.

Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are supported in mainstream schools from the allocations of funding mainstream schools receive for all their pupils. These allocations are calculated under funding formulae that reflect the characteristics of the pupils in the school, including those with SEND.

Core schools' funding is £4 billion higher this year than last year. The additional funding announced in the 2022 Autumn Statement means it will rise by another £3.5 billion, on top of that, next year. Taken together, that means a 15% increase in funding in two years. The department will set out plans for the allocation of the additional £2 billion of funding shortly.

This extra funding, on top of significant increases already announced, demonstrates that schools are a key priority for the government, especially in the context of wider fiscal challenges.