Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of SEND tribunal waiting times on the ability of families to hold local authorities to account for non-provision of SEND support.

The volume of appeals to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Tribunal means that some families face a year-long wait for a hearing, lengthening the time it takes for children and young people to get the support they need. We are working with the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to ensure appeals are heard faster, including through the recruitment of 70 new judges, more cases being resolved ‘on paper’, hearings being held in school holidays, and the prioritisation of appeals for those who are moving between education phases.