Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the number of specialist staff that will be required to implement the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan; and whether her Department has this number of specialist staff as of 28 November 2022.

The department knows that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) frequently require access to additional support from a broad specialist workforce across education, health and care. As my hon. Friend, the Minister for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy, explained on 25 November 2022, the SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper sets out proposals to commission analysis to ensure that the health needs of children and young people with SEND are supported through effective workforce planning.

The department is already taking steps to increase the capacity of the specialist workforce. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced on 29 November 2022 that we are investing £21 million into training 400 more educational psychologists, who play a critical role in the educational support available to children with SEND.