Politics
What sort of society rations support for children with special learning needs? | Sonia Sodha
There’s a proliferation of acronyms assigned to children whose needs the state is struggling to meet. SEN (children with special educational needs), Neets (young people not in education, employment or training), LACs (looked after children in the care system).
Sometimes it feels as though these acronyms, coined by the systems and professionals involved in supporting the children, serve to help us all collude in the idea that this is some highly technical, specialised policy conversation that sits apart from mainstream discourse about children – like how we protect them from online harm – instead of being fundamental to our assessment of whether our society is doing right by them.
Last week, the National Audit Office published a damning report on the extent to which children with SEN are being failed. It’s a finding that won’t come as a surprise to any parent, child or professional with experience of a system that was racked with problems even before the 14 years of spending cuts that have affected children’s services.
Before we get into that, it’s important to understand who these children are. There is something beautifully simple and child-centred about the definition of a special educational need: it means that a child has either significantly greater difficulty in learning than most other children their same age, or a disability that would prevent them from accessing mainstream school facilities.
A range of conditions or circumstances might make it more difficult for a child to engage with school, from social and emotional difficulties, to speech and language difficulties, to neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, ADHD and cerebral palsy. The system isn’t intended to be framed around diagnoses and labels, rather, around what a child needs to access education. And the moral imperative for those needs to be met could not be stronger; because if they are not, that amounts to writing off a child.
The story often told about English schools over the past 30 or so years is one of improvement. It is certainly true that, if you take the average child, standards have risen through successive curriculum reforms introduced by Labour then Conservative governments. But there has always been a significant cohort of children whom the education system fails, who do not reach adulthood with the functional skills everyone needs not just for work but for life. Not only has policy not worked at improving outcomes for those children; everywhere you look there are signs that things are getting worse, from the widening socioeconomic attainment gap to the numbers missing school in the wake of the pandemic to teachers reporting worsening behaviour.
How the education system serves those children who fall behind is not some sort of side chat: it is as important as what’s happening to average standards. Children with SEN are central to understanding that. And theirs is the story of how a beautifully simple concept has in practice become hideously complex, adversarial and destructive.
There are two tracks for getting children with SEN the support they need. Schools are expected to meet the needs of most such childen from their mainstream budgets; about 13% of all pupils. For children with high levels of need, parents or schools can apply for a local authority assessment to obtain an education, health and care (EHC) plan, which sets out a statutory entitlement for extra support; about 5% of all pupils have such a plan.
But, as children’s services and school budgets have become more stretched, even as need has gone up, many schools have struggled to support pupils with additional learning needs. So, for many parents, the only way to access support for their child is to get them an EHC plan. But that is a huge and often lengthy battle in itself, and in the interim children are missing key developmental milestones, which makes it harder for them to stay engaged in their learning, and means they ultimately need even more support.
It is a wickedly vicious cycle that drains morale, energy, time and resource from parents fighting to have their children moved to another category as their unmet needs become more profound, while the overall resource envelope doesn’t shift: over the past decade, as more children have had ECH plans, real funding for each plan has fallen by more than a third. Children are also being forced to wait years for diagnoses for conditions such as autism, ADHD and learning difficulties while not getting the support they need in the meantime.
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Where resources are scarce and budgets are stretched, any two-track system is going to have this problem. It can be seen across much of the public sector. Instead of making support available to people early – for example, when they first get ill, or develop substance abuse – to prevent problems intensifying, the little support that is available is reserved for people for whom things have become absolutely dreadful, guaranteeing that this group will always exist because there is so little support available at an earlier stage.
It is why any idea that there are ways to reform the public sector against a backdrop of high need without extra resources is for the birds; strictly rationing state support to children or adults in the most acute of crises is a sure-fire way of ensuring that things get worse. That’s why the National Audit Office found that there was no evidence that increased spending on children with additional needs had improved outcomes for them: need is growing more quickly than spending, partly because provision is so limited in the first place.
This is the problem the new Labour government faces. Stopping the late-intervention vicious cycle takes not just reforming zeal but money. Arguably, nothing should be more important to a party that once adopted “education, education, education” as a slogan than ensuring all children get their basic human right to an education. But it’s depressing that there have been so few mentions of what children with additional learning needs might gain from the budget this week.
BBCAn MP has faced calls to resign as chair of a local charity for older people after she backed the government’s plans to cut the Winter Fuel Payment.
Labour’s Liz Twist, Blaydon and Consett, who is chair of the board of trustees at Age UK Gateshead, voted with her party to restrict the payment to the poorest pensioners.
A number of constituents have emailed the charity calling for her removal, with one telling the BBC she felt it was “hypocritical” she stayed, as she represents “one of the poorest parts of country”.
Twist said she would work with the charity to ensure “every pensioner is in receipt of their full entitlement”. The charity said it was “advocating against the government’s decision”.
‘Fixing economy’
One resident, who did not want to be named, told the BBC: “I feel the government has set the threshold just right so that it excludes millions who fall slightly over the criteria meaning they are still in fuel poverty and will need to decide between heating and eating.
“Given she [Twist] is a North East MP, representing one of the poorest parts of the country, I feel it’s very hypocritical for her to hold this position and it’s disappointing that she did not vote against the removal of the Winter Fuel Payment.”
Both Age UK Gateshead and Twist’s office said rumours she had resigned from the charity role were untrue.
Twist, who as Sir Keir Starmer’s Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) acts as the prime minister’s “eyes and ears” among backbench MPs, said the values and aims of Age UK Gateshead remained close to her heart.
“As a government, it is crucial to ensure that we can fix the foundations of our economy and deliver on the promise of change,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Age UK Gateshead said its trustees maintain “the highest standards of impartiality in their work”.
“Age UK Gateshead is fully aligned with the older people we support in advocating against the government’s decision to means test Winter Fuel Payments,” they said.
It added it was working alongside the national arm of the charity to highlight “the huge impact” the decision “is likely to have on older people”.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has reprimanded Chancellor Rachel Reeves for giving interviews to reporters in the US about her upcoming Budget.
Parliamentary rules say major government announcements should be made to MPs in the Commons, ahead of journalists.
An exasperated Sir Lindsay said failing to do so was a “supreme discourtesy to the House” and he was “very, very disappointed” with Reeves.
Responding to the criticism, the prime minister’s spokesman said it was “entirely routine for government to make announcements in the run-up to Budgets and spending reviews”.
He added that Parliament would have “all the requisite time to scrutinise measures clearly”.
Reeves will deliver her first Budget on Wednesday in the Commons.
Last Friday, she outlined her plan to “change the way that we we measure debt” during a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington.
She explained she planned a technical change to loosen self-imposed limits on borrowing, to free up billions of pounds extra for infrastructure spending on projects such as roads, railways and hospitals.
The government has promised to get debt falling as share of the economy during the course of this parliament, rather than over a rolling five-year period.
Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Sir Lindsay said the policy changes “could hardly be described as a leak” when she had given on-the-record interviews, including to the BBC.
He said: “Ministers should expect to face proper, sustained scrutiny when these announcements are made to the elected members of this House and not the American news channels.”
This was because Reeves’ comments were major new policy announcements with “significant and wide-ranging implications for the government’s fiscal policy and for the public finances”, he added.
The Speaker said this was “totally unacceptable” and asked why Reeves expected MPs to wait “almost a week” simply to hear her repeat her announcements in her Budget statement.
MPs might be wondering, he added, “how they will get a seat on Wednesday. Well, to be honest the way it’s going you won’t need to – we’ll have all heard it.”
With Treasury minister Darren Jones making a statement to the House on “fiscal rules” later on Monday, the Speaker remarked: “Perhaps no coincidence.”
Alluding to previous breaches of parliamentary rules, Sir Lindsay noted that, when in opposition, Labour would complain about the previous Conservative government behaving in a similar manner, and demanded: “Get your acts together, all sides, treat Members with respect.”
Three Just Stop Oil activists have been banned from protesting in London ahead of their trial for allegedly throwing soup at two Vincent Van Gogh paintings at the National Gallery.
Mary Somerville, 77, Stephen Simpson, 71, and Phillipa Green, 24, are each charged with two counts of damaging the frames of Sunflowers 1889 and Sunflowers 1888 by dousing the artwork in soup.
The three appeared at Southwark Crown Court earlier and pleaded not guilty before being released on conditional bail.
The judge banned them from protest action within the boundary of the M25 until their trial – which is scheduled to begin in January 2026.
Mr Simpson, of Shipley, West Yorkshire, and Ms Somerville, of Bradford, West Yorkshire, attended court in person, while Ms Green, from Penryn in Cornwall, appeared by video link.
Their lawyer, Raj Chada, argued the ban was a “disproportional” infringement on their right to protest because London is “the seat of government”.
But Judge Alexander Milne said: “The application of the defendants’ right to protest is a relative one – and there seems to be a great deal of blurring between the exercise of that right and the commission of criminal offences.
“This court is not banning them from lawful protest anywhere else in the UK, but I will ban them from participating in any protest within the M25.”
Julia QuenzlerTommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months after admitting contempt of court by repeating false claims against a Syrian refugee.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, admitted 10 breaches of a High Court order made in 2021 during a hearing in Woolwich Crown Court.
Lawyers for the solicitor general accused Robinson, 41, of “undermining” the rule of law.
Barristers for Robinson said it was his “principles that have brought him before the court”.
The hearing on Monday was the culmination of events that date back to October 2018.
That month, a video went viral showing how Jamal Hijazi, a Syrian in West Yorkshire, had been attacked by another teenager at school.
Yaxley-Lennon then posted his own response to one million Facebook followers alleging that his investigation had established that Mr Hijazi was a violent thug, a claim that was untrue.
The Yaxley-Lennon video spread widely and the Syrian teenager and his family received death threats.
Three years later, Mr Hijazi won £100,000 in damages when the High Court ruled the Yaxley-Lennon’s claims against him had amounted to defamation.
The court imposed an injunction on Yaxley-Lennon, banning him from making the false claims again.
In February 2023, Yaxley-Lennon began repeating the claims and went on to post online a film claiming he had been “silenced” by the state.
That film may have been viewed at least 47 million times.
Eventually, this July, Yaxley-Lennon showed the film to thousands of his supporters in Trafalgar Square, saying he would not be silenced. The following day he left the country.
Aidan Eardley KC, for the solicitor general, told the court that Yaxley-Lennon had intended to repeat the false allegations, despite the injunction, and then take “evasive” measures.
PA“This is a high culpability case because of the high number of breaches,” said Mr Eardley.
“It is a continuing breach, the material is still out there and some of it is under the defendant’s control.”
Sasha Wass KC, for Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said he was a journalist who had been following his principles and was a passionate believer in free speech.
“This defendant has been neither sly nor dishonest nor seeking gain for himself,” she said.
She said that he was such a controversial figure he may be placed in solitary confinement by prison governors, as had occurred the last time he had been jailed, and there was medical evidence he had previously suffered trauma, panic attacks and nightmares.
Jailing Yaxley-Lennon for 18 months, Mr Justice Johnson said: “In a democratic society underpinned by the rule of law, court orders must be obeyed.
“Nobody is above the law. Nobody can pick or choose which laws or which injunctions they obey, or which they do not.
“Even if they believe that an injunction is… contrary to their views they must comply with the injunction.
“They are not entitled to set themselves up as the judge in their own court. Otherwise the administration of justice and rule of law would break down.”
The judge said that the contempt of court had been aggravated because the defendant had repeated the claims after the beginning of proceedings against him – and he had not taken steps to stop the false claims continuing to be in circulation.
The sentence could in future be cut by four months if the defendant showed the court that he had taken steps to remove the offending film.
But the judge added: “The defendant has not shown any inclination to comply with the injunction in the future. All of his actions suggest that he regards himself as above the law.”
This case was the fourth contempt case he has faced, having previously received a suspended sentence and a six-month jail term.
Yaxley-Lennon has been separately charged with failing to unlock his phone for police when he was stopped and questioned at a port under counter-terrorism powers. He will next appear in court in relation to that allegation in November.
The bus fare cap in England will be raised to £3 in the upcoming Budget, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
It is an increase on the current limit of £2 which was introduced under the previous Conservative government to help with the cost of living.
The existing cap was due to expire at the end of December.
Sir Keir said: “I do know how much this matters, particularly in rural communities where there is heavy reliance on buses.”
The new £3 cap will run until the end of 2025.
There had been speculation in recent days that the chancellor would announce in the Budget on Wednesday that the current cap would be scrapped.
This would have meant that some passengers faced a steep hike in fares following two years of help.
Around 3.4 million people in England use buses. The Confederation of Passenger Transport said raising the cap from £2 has avoided travellers facing a “cliff edge” at the end of this year.
But it said: “An increase to £3 will still present challenges for many passengers, particularly those who rely on buses as their primary means of affordable travel.”
Greenpeace said it was a “‘tough decision’ the government didn’t need to make”.
“It makes no political, economical or environmental sense whatsoever,” said Paul Morozzo, Greenpeace’s UK’s senior transport campaigner.
He said buses are a “critical lifeline to millions of people, particularly those on lower incomes”.
“A government that was truly prioritising the needs of the poorest in society would rethink this decision at the first opportunity,” he said.
The Prime Minister has said video footage that has emerged of MP Mike Amesbury appearing to punch a man to the ground is “shocking”.
Mr Amesbury has been suspended from the party and had the Labour whip withdrawn after CCTV footage appeared on Sunday.
Sir Keir Starmer said the party had “moved very swiftly” to respond after the footage was published.
He added: “There is now a police investigation and in the circumstances you’ll appreciate there’s not much more I can say about that.”
Cheshire Police said a 55-year-old man had been voluntarily interviewed under caution in relation to the incident and had since been released pending further enquiries.
In footage obtained by the Daily Mail, the Runcorn and Helsby MP is apparently seen continuing to hit the man as he lies in the street.
Amesbury has been contacted for comment.
A different video, posted on X, purported to show Amesbury shouting and swearing at the man lying in the street in Frodsham, Cheshire.
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