Sir Keir Starmer has asked Wes Streeting to help front up controversial plans to reform special educational needs provision, as fears of a mass rebellion from Labour MPs grow.
Senior figures in No 10 are understood to be “extremely keen” for Streeting to be prominent in announcing the reforms, and jointly presenting the changes alongside Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary. He would co-author a foreword to the government’s consultation and promote it with Phillipson.
The Department of Health and Social Care is involved in parts of special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision, although the plans have been led and documents written almost entirely within the Department for Education.
Bridget Phillipson has been holding regular meetings on Send
MARK THOMAS/ALAMY
The prime minister held crunch talks with Phillipson in No 10 last Friday, after The Times reported that Downing Street officials were nervous about changing the system and wanted to dilute the plans.
A schools white paper setting out reform was delayed last autumn and is due to be published later this month.
One Labour MP warned that the move to bring Streeting in was because No 10 were “trying to get blood on his hands” before a possible leadership contest to replace Starmer as prime minister later this year.
Another Labour source close to the plans said: “He’s the best communicator this government’s got — and they’ll need that.” They added that Streeting’s department “does have an important role to play in assessment, diagnosis and occupation therapy — but the reform has very much been led and shaped by the department for education.”
• The soaring bill for Send provision must be brought down
An ally of Phillipson said it was “wildly overblown” and “deeply misogynistic” to suggest Streeting would help lead the reforms. They said that health secretaries “routinely co-sign forewords on overlapping areas of policy, particularly Send”, adding “the parents of children with complex needs would expect nothing less”.
Phillipson and Georgia Gould, the schools minister, have been holding regular meetings with groups of about five MPs with an interest or background in Send — as well as courting opposition parties, groups representing families and charities for months.
The most controversial element of planned changes is stripping legal protections from parents whose children have moderate mental health and developmental needs.
Georgia Gould
ROGER HARRIS PHOTOGRAPHY
The government is thought to be planning to restrict education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which set out the support required by children with special needs and are legally binding, to only the most severe and complex cases.
Four tiers of support would be introduced for different levels of needs. Those who do not have it met even by the highest tier would then qualify for an EHCP.
• Rise in diagnoses of pupils with autism could bankrupt councils
Sources close to the changes said they would be “gradual rather than brutal”, but that the mood on Labour back benches is such that there is still likely to be a rebellion. Helen Hayes, the Labour MP who chairs the education select committee, has made clear that the government must avoid “any erosion of current rights and entitlements”.
Children with existing EHCPs are expected to keep their plans initially, but could still face changes to avoid a dual system running into the 2030s.
Ministers believe reform is needed to stem the soaring cost of provision. Spending by councils on Send has doubled to almost £13 billion since 2016 and is forecast to almost double again by 2031 without reform.
More than 1.7 million children in England have special needs. Of these, more than 430,000 have EHCPs, up from 236,806 pupils in 2016.
Research from the Local Government Association found that eight in ten councils are at threat of bankruptcy over mounting deficits on Send, which are projected to reach £14 billion in two years’ time.
In the budget in November, the government announced it would take on the cost of this provision from councils from 2028.
The move meant implementation of the changes to the Send system was expected to start in 2028/29, but it has instead been pushed to the start of the 2029/30 academic year. This risks the reforms being tied up in a general election campaign, which must be held by 2029.
A Phillipson ally said: “The schools white paper is a once in a generation opportunity to put millions of children, including those with Send, on the path to more opportunity and better lives. Bridget is relishing the chance to unveil her vision for our schools.
“These plans will be quintessentially Labour, creating a new generation of inclusive schools that deliver a brilliant education for every child, not just a lucky few. They will be central to this government’s agenda for national renewal.”