Esther McVey has warned more must be done to tackle the “unacceptable” long delays for children with special educational needs and disabilities to access care plans – with some in Cheshire waiting nearly a year for help.
Councils have a legal limit of 20 weeks to issue an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) after the school or parent asks for it.
The Tatton MP said all three councils covering the constituency were failing to meet the deadline. She pointed to figures given to her from Cheshire West SEND Accountability group of parents which showed the average time was 30 to 50 weeks in the area, with just a small percentage of plans completed within the legal time frame.
She said: “The last Conservative government put record levels of investment into SEND provision but we know that demand is continuing to rise and more needs to be done. However, the decisions being taken by the new government will create more problems and further increase waiting times.”
Speaking in a Parliamentary debate on SEND provision Ms McVey said plans to add VAT onto private school fees would have a detrimental effect on a system already struggling with referrals.
Under the plans, pupils with an EHCP would be exempt from the VAT charges but many of the 100,000 SEND children in private schools do not have a plan. And because of the delays in getting a EHC plan many parents take the decision to put their children into private schools to provide them with the support they need. Now though, with the VAT increase parents unable to meet the costs, face the tough decision of disrupting their child’s education and changing schools. Many will be forced into an already overstretched state sector many still without EHC plans so not getting the help they need.
Ms McVey called for answers over what impact assessment the government had carried out on the effect of adding VAT to private schools on SEND pupils and school places. The Minister was unable to answer, Esther has asked for the department officials to provide her with the answers.
The Tatton MP also highlighted the struggles faced by specialist further education colleges around accessing funding as she set out the excellent work done by the David Lewis Centre in Little Warford, which supports young people as they transition from full time education into careers.