Alex Temple, a solicitor in Bindmans’ Public Law and Human Rights team, has provided a statement in response to the BBC’s article concerning fears for children as special educational needs budgets tighten:

Funding for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is in crisis. This is not new. Those of us who work with children with SEND have, for years, struggled against a system where councils simply do not have the money to meet their legal obligations. This has meant that families must fight for the education and vital support they are entitled to. It also means that children have missed out on significant parts of their education whilst waiting for support to come online, or may even go without a school place at all.

This is why it is so concerning that this long term has not been reversed, but has actually accelerated with today’s news that the shortfall has reached nearly £1billion. We urge the party forms a government on 5 July to make fixing this a priority. Otherwise, the system will continue to reward families who can access support and fight hardest for the support they are entitled to, and others will be left behind.”