Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 26
26
In our report in May 2020, we found that there were not enough state special...
Conclusion
In our report in May 2020, we found that there were not enough state special school places in some parts of the country, meaning that local authorities had to cover the high cost of places in independent schools and spend ever larger amounts on SEND transport. We recommended that the Department should carry out a systematic analysis of current and future demand for school places and facilities suitable for pupils with complex needs, and develop a costed plan for meeting those needs, which the Department agreed with.51 We asked the Department about reports that local authorities are being required by tribunal judgements to send pupils to private providers, some of whom charge “exorbitant prices”. The Department agreed that specialist provision was one of the key cost pressures on the SEND system, and that it would look at “some of these market structure questions” as part of the SEND review.52 47 Qq 129, 144 48 Qq 112–115, 125, 145–148 49 Qq 117, 119 50 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.17–1.19 51 HC Committee of Public Accounts, Support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, First Report of Session 2019–21, May 2020; HM Treasury, Treasury Minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the First to the Sixth reports from Session 2019–21, CP 270, July 2020 52 Qq 123, 131–132 14 Financial sustainability of schools in England
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
4. PAC conclusion: While we wait for the much-delayed SEND review, the support system continues to fail many children and remains financially unsustainable. 4: PAC recommendation: The Department should set out in the SEND review (which it has committed to publish in the first quarter of 2022) what improvements it is aiming to achieve and over what time period, and make clear what specific metrics it will use to assess whether the support system is improving and becoming more sustainable. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 4.2 The government published the outcome of the SEND Review in the Special Educational Needs and Disability and Alternative Provision Green Paper - SEND Review: Right Support, Right place, Right time on 29 March 2022. The consultation on the Green Paper will close on 1 July 2022. 4.3 Later in 2022 the department will publish a national SEND delivery plan, setting out the government’s response to the consultation and how change will be implemented and by whom to deliver better outcomes for children and young people. 4.4 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, wrote to the Committee about the Green Paper on 28 March 2022.