§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent in Crosby from measures within the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. [178895]
§ Margaret HodgeInformation on total spending to support the duties introduced as a result of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 is not collected centrally. Funding to local authorities in England for education in the school sector has risen from £26.4 billion in 2001–02 to £28.3 billion in 2003–04. Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including those in the Crosby area, have benefited from these significant additional resources, in the school sector alone local authorities planned to spend nearly £3.5 billion in 2003–04 on SEN, of which about £1.5 billion was spent on special education in special schools, £1.7 billion on provision in mainstream schools and about £2.4 million on local authority responsibilities including educational psychologists and carrying out statutory assessments.
Some £220 million was made available between 2001–02 and 2003–04 specifically to support improvements in access to schools for disabled pupils and students, including those in the Crosby area. This is part of overall capital funds of £9 billion for education made available to local authorities during the same period.