Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Children with Special Educational Needs

Monday 12 June 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Jim Shannon asked about recent discussions on support for children with special educational needs.
  • The Minister responded with details of a published plan from March and mentioned sharing it with devolved Administrations.
  • Jim Shannon noted financial pressures and the Minister acknowledged engagement through the UK Education Ministers Council, with a session held on 8 June.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Children & Families
Context

The question arises from discussions on supporting children with special educational needs, particularly focusing on the exchange of ideas and plans between England and Northern Ireland.

Question

What recent discussions has she had with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations on support for children with special educational needs?

Answer from Claire Coutinho

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that we published the special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision improvement plan in March this year. Although the plan applies only to England, we shared a pre-publication draft with the devolved Administrations to build understanding of our proposals.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not address ongoing discussions or commitments for sharing ideas and plans with Northern Ireland directly.

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Q2 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Northern Ireland Children & Families
Context

The question focuses on the challenges faced by families and schools in Northern Ireland due to budget cuts and long waiting times for assessments, seeking ideas from mainland UK education systems.

Question

I thank the Minister for her response and for her interest in exchanging such ideas with Northern Ireland. Whether we are on the United Kingdom mainland or in Northern Ireland, money is under pressure. As someone who has been an elected representative in local government, in the council, as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and as a Member of Parliament, I am very aware that many more people seem to have special educational needs. When people have to wait up to seven months for an assessment, the cut in money is detrimental. Will the Minister share the ideas from the mainland here in the UK with the Department of Education back home? There are many ideas and thoughts on classroom assistants on the mainland, and it would be good to exchange those ideas and thoughts with the Assembly in Northern Ireland.

Answer from Claire Coutinho

I know that the hon. Gentleman is a passionate campaigner on such issues. He will know that education is devolved, but Ministers engage with our counterparts through the UK Education Ministers Council, and a session was held just last week, on 8 June.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not commit to sharing specific ideas or proposals directly with Northern Ireland's Department of Education.

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