Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 12
1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services: interim Report on temporary provisions in the Coronavirus Act
Published 25 Sep 2020
Paragraph 60
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
At the time of writing, the Special Educational Needs and Disability (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, which temporarily modify the time limits in relation to EHC assessment and Plans, were due to expire on 25 September. This will add further pressure to local authorities already facing the huge challenge of dealing with an inevitable backlog of cases. The Department must set out a clear national strategy for managing the backlog of EHC assessments and Plans, to ensure children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities get the support they need, within the statutory timescales. It should also set out in guidance to local authorities clear criteria for prioritising EHC cases.
From: Women and Equalities Committee, 1st Report - Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services: interim Report on temporary provisions in the Coronavirus Act (HC 386), paragraph 60, 25 September 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 January 2021.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government "welcomes the Committee's interim recommendations" and sets out actions taken on Care Act easements, the Mental Health Act and EHC plans, while describing the existing parliamentary review arrangements as "flexible and proportionate".
- On Care Act easements, the government says they "should only be used when absolutely necessary", that no local authorities are currently operating under them, and that the changes "will be kept under regular review".
- The Mental Health Act provisions were repealed from the Coronavirus Act on 8 December 2020. On reform, the government will publish a White Paper "as soon as it is possible to do so".
- On EHC plans, no further modification notice was issued after 31 July. The government does not intend to issue further notices "unless the evidence changes".
- On a separate Commons view on individual provisions, the government describes the existing arrangements, including the six-monthly vote, as "a flexible and proportionate response" that ensures ongoing scrutiny.