Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 9
1st Report - Support for children and young people with special educational needs
Published 15 Jan 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Support for children and young people with special educational needs All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Department described how parental confidence provided a core indicator of an effective SEN system but that, with a third of parents having children with SEN in the state system feeling their child did not get necessary support, the system was “nowhere near good enough”.16 Families lack confidence in a system where it does not meet expectations. The proportion of EHC plans issued within the statutory 20-week target was 50% in 2023, down from around 60% in the period 2018 to 2021.17 The Department attributed lengthening waiting times to increasing demand for EHC plans, which it described as “rational” given that less support is available for those without a plan, creating a “vicious cycle” of demand. It aimed to reduce the waiting times before children received SEN support by ensuring that this support did not necessarily depend on children going through the assessment process to get an individualised EHC plan.18 10 Q 2 11 C&AG’s Report, paras 7 and 1.6, Figure 1 12 Q 8 13 Q 4 14 Q 3 15 Q 2 16 Qq 3, 62 17 C&AG’s Report, para 8, Figure 7 18 Q 10 10
From: Public Accounts Committee, 1st Report - Support for children and young people with special educational needs (HC 353), 15 January 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report for Committee's 1st Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026.
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the First report from Session 2024-25
Published 6 May 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the seven recommendations, but says it cannot commit to the six-month timescales on inclusive education and demand, or to setting out plans on local authority finances by March 2025.
- On variation in SEN identification and support, the government agrees, with a target implementation date of April 2026, and says work "in the next 12 months will continue" to identify and disseminate good practice from better-performing local authorities.
- On demand and inclusive education, the government agrees but states that it "cannot commit to setting out plans in the next six months"; it will "set out further detail later this year".
- On local authority deficits, the government agrees the matter is urgent but "has been unable to set out plans by March 2025". Its SEND reform plans, to be set out "in further detail in 2025", will "inform any decision to remove the statutory override".
- On health, the government says ICBs are legally responsible for SEND duties and that decisions are "taken locally". It will publish the NHS 10 Year Plan in spring 2025 and a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan in summer 2025.