§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Education in what circumstances it is the responsibility(a) of local education authorities to buy placements at independent specialist institutions for young people aged 16 to 19 years who have a statement and (b) of the Further 864W Education Funding Council for buying placements if there is not a statement and if the college is educationally appropriate; if Doncaster college for the deaf is classed as educationally appropriate; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. BoswellUnder the Education Act 1993, LEAs have a duty, in consultation with the parents, to determine the special education provision required for young people for whom they are responsible. Where an LEA maintains a statement, it must also arrange for the special educational provision specified in the statement. LEAs have a statutory duty to pay for the provision at an independent institution specified in a statement when it is further education provided at a school catering for under-16s as well as over-16s.
In circumstances where there is no LEA duty to fund provision, it falls upon the Further Education Funding Council to do so in respect of students over compulsory school age and under 25 years of age who have learning difficulties and disabilities. Where the council has satisfied itself that suitable provision is not available in the further and higher education sectors and judges that it is in the students' best interests to do so, it has a duty to buy provision outside these sectors.
The Further Education Funding Council has confirmed that it will continue to fund places for students with learning difficulties and disabilities at Doncaster college for the deaf in cases which meet the council's published criteria for such placements.