Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

SEND: Funding

Monday 1 December 2025 · 4 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Minister stated commitment to educating children in their local communities.
  • Government has invested 740 million in specialist places for SEND.
  • Minister confirmed commitment to understanding the factors behind the rise in children with special educational needs.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Clive Jones Lib Dem Wokingham
Children & Families
Context

In Wokingham, there is a shortage of SEND places, causing pupils to travel long distances from their homes. The council bid for two new SEND schools in 2022 but has not received the necessary funding to proceed.

Question

What steps she is taking to provide adequate funding for special educational needs provision? In Wokingham there are not enough SEND places for pupils, which means that they have to travel outside the borough and sometimes a long way from their homes to go to school. In 2022, Wokingham bid for two SEND schools and were given those two schools, but nothing has happened since then; the Government have still not committed any funding to the schools. Will the Minister tell me now when the funding will be released so that the council can start building them?

Answer from The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)

We are absolutely committed to the education of children in their local communities, and I have seen the difference that the £740 million we have put into specialist places has made: children can now be educated in resource bases linked to schools. In relation to the two schools that the hon. Gentleman mentioned, as the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), said earlier, we hope to provide those answers as soon as possible.

Partly answered

How: Hoping To Provide Answers As Soon As Possible

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Q2 Helen Hayes Lab Dulwich and West Norwood
Children & Families
Context

The Nido Volans Centre in Helen Hayes' constituency provides education and training on independent living and employability skills for young people with special educational needs. It is part of Natspec’s The Power of Specialist FE Awareness Week.

Question

Will the Secretary of State join me in celebrating Natspec’s The Power of Specialist FE Awareness Week, and will she assure me that the Government’s SEND reform proposals will fully recognise the vital role of specialist colleges and the need for sustainable funding, so that every young person who can benefit from a specialist college placement has access to one?

Answer from The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)

I should very much like to celebrate this week, and I agree about the importance of access to specialist colleges and helping children into work. I have visited specialist providers and seen how proud headteachers are to be helping children into supported internships and helping them with their next steps. They are doing incredibly important work. Our schools White Paper examines how we can help children with special educational needs to thrive into adulthood.

Answered
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Q3 Lincoln Jopp Con Spelthorne
Children & Families
Context

The number of children identified as having special educational needs has been increasing, and a previous response from the Secretary of State acknowledged the need to understand this phenomenon.

Question

On 16 June I asked the Secretary of State what she understood to be the drivers behind the phenomenon of the exponential rise in the number of children with special educational needs. She replied: 'My Department, and the Department of Health and Social Care, are keen to understand...the drivers.'—[Official Report, 16 June 2025; Vol. 769, c. 11.] May I ask what work the Secretary of State has done in the intervening six months, and what she understands better today than she did on 16 June?

Answer from The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)

Again, we are absolutely committed to supporting children with special educational needs, and to understanding why we are seeing increases. Much of the evidence suggests that we are much better at diagnosing and understanding their needs, which is a positive development, but we are continuing to work with colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care to review the evidence and understand how we can best intervene and support children—and, critically, not have to wait for a diagnosis, but be able to support children at the point when needs emerge.

Answered
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Q4 Kim Johnson Lab Liverpool Riverside
Children & Families
Context

The number of children in Liverpool requiring an EHCP has doubled over the past three years, with many parents struggling to find suitable school places. The Government plan to move financial responsibility for SEND from local authorities to the Department for Education.

Question

I really welcome the Government’s increasing funding for SEND. However, almost 8,000 children in Liverpool now require an EHCP. The number has doubled over the past three years, with many parents struggling to find a school place that meets the needs of their child. Can the Minister please provide assurances to the Liverpool Parents and Carers Forum that the plan in the Budget to move the financial responsibility for SEND from local authorities to the Department for Education will be given the funding it needs to provide support to children who need it, including for earlier intervention, adequate specialist places and inclusive mainstream support?

Answer from The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)

I can assure my hon. Friend that we are already investing in special educational needs, and we will continue to invest in special educational needs.

Partly answered

How: Already Investing And Continuing To Invest

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