§ 9. Mr. Andrew George (St. Ives)What recent assessment he has made of LEA special educational needs budgets. [138365]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Ms Margaret Hodge)Individual authorities determine the funding arrangements for their schools, taking account of their statutory duties, including those for pupils with special educational needs. Schools do not account separately for their special educational provision but must, under the Education Act 1996, use their best endeavours to secure suitable special educational provision for any pupil with special educational needs.
§ Mr. GeorgeI welcome the announcement of the long-overdue additional funds made available to schools in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, but is the Minister aware that among parents of children with special educational needs in Cornwall, there are growing fears of downward pressure on statementing, support services, and now a threat to the future of the Pencalenick special school? In view of the high levels of special educational need inclusion in Cornwall, can the Minister reassure parents that effective provision will not be jeopardised by an adverse change in the area cost adjustment?
§ Ms HodgeI reassure the hon. Gentleman that there is no pressure to reduce the identification of children with special needs. Quite the reverse applies: we are identifying such children's needs earlier. That enables us to intervene appropriately to ensure that they can fulfil their potential.
With regard to the school to which the hon. Gentleman referred, I know that consultation is currently occurring on proposals about changing its intake. As he knows, that is a matter for local decision making and the local 430 organisation committee. Our policy in principle is that there should be choice for individual parents and inclusion by choice.
§ Charlotte Atkins (Staffordshire, Moorlands)Will my hon. Friend congratulate Staffordshire local education authority on its inclusion project, which seeks to identify and share best practice in order to ensure successful inclusion of special educational needs pupils into mainstream classrooms? The project is led by Caroline Coles, the head teacher of Horton Lodge school, which has become a centre of excellence and runs a groundbreaking training course for mainstream teachers. Does my hon. Friend agree that the way forward for SEN is to work in partnership with both parents and pupils, rather than through the bureaucratic paper chase of statementing used by the previous Government?
§ Ms HodgeI join my hon. Friend in congratulating those involved in the project in her constituency. It is one of many that we are funding to promote and spread best practice in encouraging inclusion in schools. I agree entirely with her that the best way of ensuring that children with special educational needs fulfil their potential is by working in partnership with parents and schools to achieve that. She will be pleased to know that partnership will be at the centre of the future legislation and the code of practice that will arise out of it. Doing away with paper chases will also be part of the code of practice.
§ Mr. James Clappison (Hertsmere)Given that some people believe that special educational needs are more easily identified and met in smaller classes and this week's news that pupil:teacher ratios in secondary schools are now at their worst since 1975, will the Minister tell us whether class sizes are higher or lower for the important key stage 2 age group than they were in 1979?
§ Mr. Peter L. Pike (Burnley)Does my hon. Friend recognise that organisations such as the National Union of Teachers in Lancashire are anxious about the way in which funding arrangements are being changed for special educational needs? Will she guarantee that provision for special educational needs will remain a major service area and will take into account the anxieties expressed by organisations such as the Lancashire NUT?
§ Ms HodgeI reassure my hon. Friend that funding has been not reduced, but massively increased by the Government to meet the needs of children with special needs. The standards fund has achieved a tripling of that budget since the Government came into power and the school access initiative has ensured a tenfold increase in the schools access budget this year. Further increases are planned. By 2003–04, we will be spending £100 million on increasing access to the curriculum and to buildings.
I also assure my hon. Friend that the derogation of funding to schools will, in my view, support the interests of children with special educational needs as there will be more stable funding and greater opportunity to improve staff training.
§ Mr. Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale, West)Will the Minister give an assurance that the Bill on special 431 educational needs that the Government will introduce in the new Session will contain nothing to dilute the individual rights of parents with regard to statementing?