Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey and Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson have written to Keir Starmer setting out five principles for SEND reform, and offering to work on a cross-party basis with the government to ensure the reforms deliver for children with SEND and their families.

The five principles include maintaining the right to SEND assessments for children, boosting special school capacity, improving early identification and cutting waiting lists. The Liberal Democrats are also calling for more support for local authorities to provide SEND services and better training for school staff.

The full letter can be found below:  

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing to you regarding the recent reporting on your Government’s forthcoming reform of the special education needs and disabilities (SEND) system.

Let us be clear: after years of Conservative neglect, the SEND system needs fundamental change. Your commitment to reform is welcome.

For too long, a broken system has forced children and families to fight long battles to get the support they need. Outcomes for those children haven’t improved while council deficits have ballooned, leaving many on the brink.

Change is sorely needed. But this reform must be honest, ambitious, and must have children at its heart. It cannot see children’s rights rolled back.

Many parents are deeply worried that the forthcoming reforms will leave their children worse 

off, with an erosion of the rights that underpin the support they need. The lack of clarity from your Government is leading to worry and confusion, with constant conflicting reports on what exactly is being considered. SEND families are being deprived of the certainty they need to live their lives.

Those families have waited too long for a system that works. We need to get this right.

We are writing to outline five fundamental principles, which we believe should underpin the coming reform.

Our five principles and priorities for SEND reform are as follows:

1. Putting children and families first Children’s rights to SEND assessment and support must be maintained and the voices of children and young people with SEND and of their families and carers must be at the centre of the reform process.
2. Boosting specialist capacity and improving mainstream provision Capacity in state special provision must be increased, alongside improvements to inclusive mainstream provision, with investment in both new school buildings and staff training.
3. Supporting local government Local authorities must be supported better to fund SEND services, including through:
   1. The extension of the profit cap in children’s social care to private SEND provision, where many of the same private equity backed companies are active, and
   2. National government funding to support any child whose assessed needs exceed a specific cost.
4. Early identification and shorter waiting lists Early identification and intervention must be improved, with waiting times for diagnosis, support and therapies cut.
5. Fair funding The SEND funding system must properly incentivise schools both to accept SEND pupils and to train their staff in best practice for integrated teaching and pastoral care.

We would welcome the chance to discuss these principles and priorities with you further. Together with our Liberal Democrat colleagues, we are eager to work with you on a cross-party basis, to make sure that the forthcoming reforms truly deliver for children with SEND and for their families.  

Yours sincerely, 

Ed Davey 
Munira Wilson

This week, the Government held a vote on a welfare bill which threatened to cause immense damage to some of the most vulnerable in our society.

It would have made things harder for unpaid carers, harder for disabled people who rely on support to stay in work, and harder for those whose disabilities mean they may never be able to work.

That’s why we voted against the Bill on Tuesday.

After pressure from Liberal Democrats and across the House, the Government finally caved in and scrapped parts of it. But this is no way to run a country.

Rushed legislation is poor legislation. 

It should not have taken a major rebellion for the Government to realise that these cuts would cause immense damage to some of the most vulnerable and risk creating a false economy by actually forcing some people out of work.

To appease their own backbenches, the Government was willing to create a two-tier system, with new Personal Independent Payment (PIP) claimants unable to access the same support as those currently receiving it – only scrapping these plans at the final moment.

PIP allows people to do the simple activities we all take for granted and stay in work. Cutting it will push more people into poverty and out of employment.

Liberal Democrats will continue to oppose any system where some disabled people are more equal than others.

It’s clear that the welfare bill is too high, but if the Government was serious about cutting welfare spending it would get serious about fixing health and social care, to tackle chronic ill-health at its root.

Carers have been ignored by the Government throughout this whole debacle. Their voices must now be heard loud and clear. Ministers must ensure that this review listens carefully to both carers’ charities to understand the impact these changes will have, on family carers.

The scale of this week’s rebellion shows that the Government is just not listening, and not delivering on the change that people are crying out for. 

It is time for the Government to take their fingers out of their ears and realise it is time to change course. They must scrap this flawed legislation, go back to the drawing board, and work cross-party to fairly reduce the need for high welfare spending, by getting more people into work and fixing our broken health and care systems. 

And when it comes to balancing the books, rather than cutting support for disabled people, ministers should be asking the social media giants, the big banks and the big online gambling companies to pay their fair share of tax.

Image: ©House of Commons