Ministers have “learned the lesson” of botched welfare changes and are on a sustained lobbying blitz of Labour MPs over an overhaul of special educational needs, Labour MPs have said, as they warned they would not back measures aimed at saving money.
The changes will raise the bar at which children in England qualify for an education, health and care plan (EHCP), which legally entitles children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) to get support. Plans will be reserved for children with the most severe and complex needs, according to sources familiar with the proposals.
The expected move has sparked concerns among parents and campaigners who have warned that limiting legal rights could have catastrophic implications for children and families, and among MPs who say Send is the issue they are most contacted about.
Weakening the Send legal framework would put at risk decades of progress towards inclusion, said Madeleine Cassidy, the chief executive of IPSEA, a charity providing legal advice that is part of the Save Our Children’s Rights campaign. “These rights are not optional – they are essential safeguards that enable families to secure the support their children need to access education and thrive,” she said.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has been leading a year-long lobbying offensive of hundreds of MPs to convince them that the changes are not aimed at saving money and will make schools more inclusive. But despite intensive engagement with the parliamentary Labour party, some in government are worried that Labour MPs could vote the plans down in the next parliamentary session, saying that such an event could hasten the end of Keir Starmer’s premiership.
“Everyone knows this is the most high-stakes political reform they’ve taken on since welfare,” said one Labour MP. Alongside official debates and a consultation, ministers have also been meeting with parents and campaigners and running special listening exercises with MPs who have children with special needs, while MPs have also been given guidance packs on running Send roundtables.
Another MP said there was a stark contrast in preparation of the overhauls. “We have had a masterclass in how not to do engagement with the PLP [parliamentary Labour party] in recent months with the welfare bill,” they said. “And now we’re seeing a masterclass in how to do it.”
Jen Craft, an MP and member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on Send, said she would oppose plans to restrict EHCPs if a properly funded replacement system was not in place. “That would be a real issue,” she said.
Phillipson has told MPs that the overhaul of the system, in which funding for high-needs provision has increased by more than 50% to £11bn a year, is not a cost-cutting exercise. She told the PLP it was “morally wrong” to put children in independent special schools that often failed them at “enormous cost” to them and the taxpayer.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said it had already invested £3bn in specialist Send units in local state schools and £200m to train teachers in Send.
They said: “Our priority is – and has always been – improving outcomes for children and young people with Send. We will restore parents’ trust by fixing what isn’t working in the system and strengthening support for those who need it – shaped directly by the views and experiences of those who know the system best.”
Meg Hillier, the MP who is chair of the Treasury select committee, who led the Labour backbench rebellion against the welfare reform bill, said this “downpayment” was key to building trust. “Bridget knows its important to get it as right as possible first time, you don’t get to take a shot at this,” she said. “And she’s working hard to bring the PLP and stakeholders with her.”
But the government will have to save money. Spiralling Send costs have put local authorities into £6bn of debt. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said in last year’s budget that she would take over full responsibility for the costs.
Avnee Morjaria, a co-author of an influential report from the Institute for Public Policy Research, said: “A reform of this scale will eventually need a serious rebalancing of funding from individuals to the school system so that children can access the support they need sooner and more efficiently. That will have implications for the funding available for EHCPs in the future.”
Helen Hayes, the chair of the education select committee, said the government should retain existing legal rights and the new system had to be properly funded and fully accountable. The proportion of children on EHCPs has grown from 3% in 2018 to more than 5%, with the number of assessments increasing by 250% between 2013 and 2024.
“Parents rely on the part of the system – the EHCP – that has statutory accountability, because there is almost no accountability in any other part of the system,” Hayes said.
The MP Antonia Bance said rebuilding trust with parents was an uphill battle “because few people believe that things can actually get better. But there is an absolute consensus that the current system is broken. We have to do something.”
