Special Educational Needs (Hansard, 22 April 1993)

§ Mr. Wigley
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will undertake a survey of all local education authorities in Wales to determine which of them, on being responded to provide an assessment under section 5 of the Education Act 1981, responded by providing an informal assessment, rather than a statutory assessment for those children who hitherto have not been statemented.

§ Sir Wyn Roberts
No. The provision for parents to request an assessment of their child's needs, where the child does not already have a statement, does not differentiate between a formal or an informal assessment. The Education Bill makes it clear that parents may ask a local education authority to arrange a statutory assessment.

§ Mr. Wigley
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he has taken to ensure that local education authorities do not refuse a statement for a child of statutory secondary school age, whose statutory assessment has indicated special educational needs, on the grounds that the funding of such statementing is the responsibility of individual schools under the system of local management of schools.

§ Sir Wyn Roberts
Local education authorities have a statutory duty to prepare a statement, if following a formal assessment of needs, they conclude that they should determine the special educational provision that should be made for a child. LEAs have a further duty to maintain a statement and to ensure that the provision it specifies is delivered. Local management of schools' arrangements do not affect LEAs' statutory duty in that respect.
Parents have a right of appeal to my right hon. Friend if, following a formal assessment, LEAs decide not to issue a statement. They may also make a complaint to him if they consider that an LEA is defaulting on a statutory duty.

§ Mr. Wigley
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many out-county places are provided by each local education authority in Wales for(a) children with special educational needs, and (b) for children suffering from dyslexia.

§ Sir Wyn Roberts
Information is available only in respect of children with statements of special educational needs. Information on statemented pupils by the authority where they are registered and place of education at January 1992 is given in table 12.01 of the Welsh Office publication "Statistics of Education and Training in Wales: Schools, No. 1 1993".

§ Mr. Wigley
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what review he has undertaken of the additional educational facilities in each local education authority in Wales required to meet the special educational needs of children who are being educated bilingually;
(2) if he will carry out a survey of the number of children in all local education authority in Wales who have been identified by the local education authority as having a specific learning difficulty in numeracy; and if he will arrange for these figures to be published.

§ Sir Wyn Roberts
My right hon. Friend has not undertaken a review and does not propose any survey. It 159W is the responsibility of the local education authority to identify children with special educational needs, including those with specific learning difficulties, and to make appropriate provision for them.