Written questions by Mohamed.

What mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that the provision specified in Individual Support Plans under the SEND White Paper proposals is legally enforceable; and what recourse will be available to parent

Awaiting answer.

What assessment has the Department made of how the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities will be met where those needs do not align with one of the proposed Speciali

Awaiting answer.

What criteria the Department intends to use to determine the threshold for (a) an Education, Health and Care needs assessment and (b) the issuing of an Education, Health and Care plan under the proposed reforms

I refer my hon. Friend, the member for Dewsbury and Batley to the response of 9 June 2026 to Question 2528.

What provision the Department plans to make for children and young people with SEND who are not currently attending school or college, including those who are out of education due to unmet needs or placement di

The department is committed to ensuring that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have access to suitable education, including those not currently attending school or college.The department’s consultation, “...

What definition will the Department apply to the term complex needs within the context of the SEND system reforms; and how will this definition be operationalised in decision-making processes.

In the department’s consultation ‘Special educational needs and disabilities reform: putting children and young people first’, the term ’complex needs’ is used to describe children and young people who require support at the specialist level, which will b...

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that children and young person with SEND can access suitable school and college places in instances where SEND Tribunals are unable to determine an appropriate plac

The department is committed to ensuring that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have access to suitable education, including those not currently attending school or college.The department’s consultation, “...

What assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to rights of appeal and enforceable provision on parental and carer confidence in the SEND system; and what steps will be take

The department recognises the importance of parental and carer confidence in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. As part of the consultation on 'SEND reform: putting children and young people first', we are analysing feedback fro...

What her Department's rules and guidance are regarding schools being able to remove pupils from school after being absent for a set number of consecutive days.

As set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register for a reason set out in regulation 9 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024. Under...

How many pupils in England were removed from school rolls due to being absent for a set number of consecutive days from school in the past ten years, and whether can she provide a breakdown by year.

As set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register for a reason set out in regulation 9 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024. Under...

When her Department intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member of Dewsbury and Batley dated 11 March on the removal of pupils from school rolls.

I can confirm that a response to the letter of 11 March 2026 from the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley was sent on 15 June.

With reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Every Child Achieving and Thriving, published on 23 February 2026, how much of the teacher training will be delivered in person; who will deliver the training; and how will the training be funded.

The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper set out proposals for a package of professional development on special educational needs and disabilities, backed by over £200 million of funding. The department is currently in the design phase, listening to feedback coming through the special educational needs and disabilities consultation and working with a wide range of experts to identify what will be most impactful in supporting settings to be more inclusive. More information on the structure of the training will be released in due course.The department has confirmed that the courses for teachers and leaders in schools and colleges will include a mixture of flexible online self-study sessions and live facilitated sessions, which may be in-person or online to support access. We have also announced a package of materials for schools and colleges to support the development and delivery of in-house, in-person training.We will adhere to public sector procurement regulations to select suitable providers to deliver the different elements of the package.

If she will make it her policy to publish the number and proportion of responses to the consultation entitled SEND reform: putting children and young people first, published on 23 February 2026, that supported the proposed changes to tribunal arrangements.

On Monday 23 February, we launched a 12‑week national consultation on our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, so we can hear directly from people across the country with an interest in these changes.To do this, we are building on our national conversation and delivering one of the broadest engagement programmes we have ever run, bringing together professionals, families, children, and young people to help shape these reforms.We are hosting a series of online and in‑person events throughout the 12-week consultation period, including sessions delivered in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children (CDC). This includes:​9 regional events,​24 children and young people–led sessions (including those delivered with CDC), and​6 information webinars for health, education, local authority leaders, social care and parent carers.​Since ​the Consultation launched, there have been more than 100 engagement events across a broad spectrum of sectors.​​The consultation, including an equalities impact assessment and children’s right impact assessment of the reform proposals, can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first. We will publish a response once the consultation has closed.

If she will publish all (a) analysis, (b) impact assessments and (c) internal summaries of stakeholder responses used to inform decisions on SEND reform proposals.

On Monday 23 February, we launched a 12‑week national consultation on our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, so we can hear directly from people across the country with an interest in these changes.To do this, we are building on our national conversation and delivering one of the broadest engagement programmes we have ever run, bringing together professionals, families, children, and young people to help shape these reforms.We are hosting a series of online and in‑person events throughout the 12-week consultation period, including sessions delivered in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children (CDC). This includes:​9 regional events,​24 children and young people–led sessions (including those delivered with CDC), and​6 information webinars for health, education, local authority leaders, social care and parent carers.​Since ​the Consultation launched, there have been more than 100 engagement events across a broad spectrum of sectors.​​The consultation, including an equalities impact assessment and children’s right impact assessment of the reform proposals, can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first. We will publish a response once the consultation has closed.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to SEND tribunal arrangements on the ability of families to challenge local authority decisions.

The ‘Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform: putting children and young people first’ consultation document explains our proposals for reforming the SEND Tribunal as part of broader SEND reform.The department expects more disputes to be resolved much earlier through mediation without the need for a Tribunal appeal, meaning that children and young people get the support they need more quickly. However, we are also clear that the SEND Tribunal will remain an important legal backstop for families who disagree with decisions made by a local authority regarding not undertaking a needs assessment, the outcome of an assessment, the specialist provision package identified, and/or the placement named in an education, health and care plan.We also propose measures to improve local authority accountability to act on Tribunal judgments and improve their decision-making processes where the Tribunal finds against them. These measures should give parents confidence that local authorities will get more decisions right first time in future.The department will set out further detail following the consultation.

Whether any policy decisions relating to SEND reform were taken prior to the conclusion of formal consultation exercises; and whether stakeholders were informed where consultation did not extend to specific proposals.

Listening to the views of families and experts has been critical as the department has developed special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, and it is more important than ever now our formal consultation is open.As is set out clearly on GOV.UK, we welcome views across the full set of proposals relating to SEND reform and we will consider views on all aspects of SEND reform.

What consideration her Department has given to the findings and recommendations of relevant select committee inquiries on SEND provision when developing recent reform proposals.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of consultation undertaken in the development of proposed reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities system, particularly in relation to proposals on the role of tribunals.

The department is consulting extensively on the full set of proposals set out in the ‘SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First’ consultation document, during the 12-week consultation period. We welcome and will carefully consider comments and representations on all aspects of the consultation paper and subjects related to the proposed reforms, including on the role of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) tribunal.In addition to the online consultation, we are undertaking a national public engagement programme to ensure that families, practitioners and settings can engage meaningfully on the proposals. Ministers have established the SEND Development Group and the Complex Needs Group to provide expert challenge from local authorities, parent groups and campaigners.This engagement activity ensures broad, balanced and representative engagement while following consultation principles around transparency, accessibility and fairness.

Whether she has received representations on the (a) adequacy and (b) scope of consultation on SEND reforms; and what steps she has taken in response.

Listening to the views of families and experts has been critical as the department has developed special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, and it is more important than ever now our formal consultation is open.As is set out clearly on GOV.UK, we welcome views across the full set of proposals relating to SEND reform and we will consider views on all aspects of SEND reform.

How many children with Education, Health and Care Plans are not currently receiving education in formal school settings; and what steps she is taking to consider this cohort in the development of SEND policy reforms.

Information on the placements of children and young people with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, including those not in formal education settings, is published annually here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans. The most recent data was published on 26 June 2025 and the next publication is scheduled for summer 2026.

With reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Every Child Achieving and Thriving, published on 23 February 2026, whether she has made an assessment of the number and availability of trained professionals needed to deliver the proposed Experts at Hand service.

I refer the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley to the answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 121419.