Major reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system face being “derailed” by NHS staff redundancies, The i Paper can reveal.
Wide-scale NHS reorganisation, which is set to see the loss of 18,000 admin and managerial jobs, has fallen “disproportionately on SEND teams”, according to a new report by the Institute for Government (IfG).
The report, shared exclusively with The i Paper, reveals that uncertainty over plans to fold NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has led to SEND redundancies at a time when services are already stretched.
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What is the Hillsborough Law and what will it change?
Andy Burnham has said the Hillsborough Law will help shift the balance of power between the people and the state.
Liverpool fans display a banner in memory of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster before a match in 2025 REUTERS/David Klein
Exclusive
3 min read
What is the Hillsborough Law?
The Hillsborough Law takes its name from the 1989 disaster at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.
A banner stating ‘justice’ outside Saint George’s Hall as thousands of people gather to attend a vigil for the 96 victims of the Hillsborough tragedy (Photo: Christopher Furlong /Getty)
Andy Burnham leaves the venue of the second Hillsborough inquests in Warrington after hearing the coroner’s conclusions in April 2016 (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty)
The legislation, which cleared commons on Tuesday, aims to prevent cover-ups by requiring officials to be transparent during investigations and inquiries into failures by the state.
What is the Hillsborough Disaster?
The Government has signed the ‘Hillsborough Charter’ which promises public bodies will act with what Rishi Sunak called ‘honesty, transparency and candour’ (Photo: Paul Ellis/Getty)
What happened?
The 1989 Hillsborough disaster claimed 97 lives after a crush during the FA Cup semi-final.
Police response
Afterwards, police spread false narratives blaming Liverpool fans and withheld evidence of their own failings.
Tributes to the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster outside Liverpool’s Anfield stadium
Steve Kelly, the brother of 38-year-old Michael Kelly, and Sue Roberts, the sister of 24-year-old Graham Roberts, during the press conference (Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
Inquest findings
Fresh inquests held in 2016 found the fans had been unlawfully killed and that police had caused or contributed to their deaths.
What will the law do?
1The law will create a legally-enforceable “duty of candour” for public officials to tell the truth to inquiries and investigations.
2The Hillsborough Law will also ensure victims of disasters or state-related deaths are entitled to parity of legal representation during inquests and inquiries.
3Bereaved families will get access to public funding, just as public money is used to support Government and public authority lawyers.
news
EV drivers face pay-per-mile scheme from 2028 – what we know
UK enquiries for EVs have risen sharply since the Iran conflict began. (Photo: John Walton/PA)
The Government has confirmed that a new pay-per-mile scheme for electric vehicles will be introduced in April 2028.
How does the new scheme work?
Electric car drivers will be required to pay a tax of 3p per mile.
It will be calculated through the use of driver mileage estimates and an upfront charge based on that figure.
Motorists will then submit an actual mileage reading at the end of the year and this will be backed up by a mileage reading at the car’s annual MOT.
At the end of the year, drivers will see their balance and either pay any outstanding amount or spread the cost over the following 12 months.
Expert opinion:
At such a crucial point in the switch to electric, ministers should be making the system simpler, fairer and easier to understand, not pressing ahead with a policy whose key faults remain unresolved.
Vicky Edmonds from Electric Vehicle Association England said that the move “still does not work for drivers”.
Caption: (FILES) People charge their electric cars at a Tesla electric charging station in Saint-Herblain, western France, on April 15, 2026, as US-Israel war on Iran, launched on February 28, has roiled global energy and equities markets, sending oil prices skyrocketing after Tehran virtually closed the key Strait of Hormuz. New electric car sales in France jumped 48 percent year-on-year in the first four months of the year to 148,302 units, even as the broader automotive market struggled, the automotive industry body PFA, which represents all carmakers, said on May 1, 2026. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: LOIC VENANCE
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Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
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Opinion | “England might not have exactly swaggered into the World Cup semi-finals but they most definitely can win it” says Mark Douglas. “After a suffocating quarter-final win – both on account of the conditions and the tension that accompanied much of their second-half display – England now meet the best team they have played in two years. “But there is nothing to fear from Argentina and clear signs that this is a team that can end that long wait for silverware”. You can read Mark’s full article on The i Paper’s website. #fifaworldcup #england #footballscominghome
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news
What do Labour’s property reforms actually mean for homebuyers?
Buying a home in England could soon change significantly under Government plans to overhaul the home-buying process.
Here is everything you need to know.
What reforms are being introduced?
Last month, the Government announced proposals aimed at modernising the home-buying process in England and Wales.
Caption: A drone view shows rows of terraced houses in the constituency of Gorton and Denton ahead of a parliamentary by-election, in Manchester, Britain, February 18, 2026 REUTERS/Phil Noble TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Photographer: Phil Noble
Provider: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS
The Enterprise Investment Scheme is designed to encourage investment into small, early-stage UK companies (Photo: Aitor Diago/Getty)
A central part of the reforms is the wider use of reservation agreements, under which buyers and sellers each pay a reservation fee and agree to progress the sale within a set timeframe. Ministers also want more information about a property to be available before it is listed for sale.
How will this impact the market?
Caption: File photo dated 29/07/25 of model houses on a pile of coins and bank notes. Councils risk becoming financially unsustainable unless they cut, reduce or overhaul critical services, a watchdog has said, as it warned of a near ?1 billion funding gap. The Accounts Commission said Scotland’s local authorities are facing a combined revenue gap of ?975 million across the next two years amid increasing financial pressures. Issue date: Thursday June 11, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire
Photographer: Joe Giddens
Provider: Joe Giddens/PA Wire
Source: PA
Higher upfront costs
Buyers would be expected to spend more on due diligence before the reservation agreement.
Fewer failed sales
Encouraging buyers and sellers to commit earlier should mean fewer sales collapse.
(Photo: Getty).
Real estate investment and loan, mortgage and refinance concept. – stock photo. (manusapon kasosod/ Getty)
Strain on first-time buyers
First-time buyers could be most exposed as they have to save for a deposit.
Watch more from The i Paper
Sir Olly Robbins, a former top Foreign Office civil servant, has launched a legal challenge after he was sacked following the Lord Mandelson vetting scandal. Robbins was fired from his position in April after Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in him, saying he had failed to tell ministers of a recommendation to deny Mandelson security vetting clearance.
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politics
Why Netflix and Disney+ subscribers could pay BBC licence fee
Netflix is moving into live TV programming – which means UK subscribers need a TV licence (Getty)
Prime Video, Disney+ and Netflix subscribers could be forced to pay the licence fee to avert an “existential threat” to the BBC, the Culture Secretary has proposed.
Here is everything you need to know.
What fees will be imposed?
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has suggested introducing a £180 annual charge on those who watch shows on streaming platforms as a means of securing the BBC’s funding.
Sources indicated that all departments in the BBC would share the pain, with the corporation needing to close up to 2,000 roles (Photo: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty)
Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 09, 2026: Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy leaves 10 Downing Street after attending the weekly Cabinet meeting in London, United Kingdom on June 09, 2026. (Photo credit should read Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Photographer: Wiktor Szymanowicz
Provider: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publis
Source: Future Publishing
Copyright: ? 2026 Wiktor Szymanowicz
Nandy told a cross-party select committee that ministers have ruled out a new tax on households or requiring the BBC to show adverts as alternatives.
Why is the charge being suggested?
Nandy said shows on other streaming services like Netflix are often made with the support of BBC staff and infrastructure.
She said increasing the number of people who pay would help reduce the cost.
It is estimated that licence fee evaders and refuseniks cost the BBC more than £1bn a year in lost income.
What was the response from the BBC?
The precise set of rules that require households to be licensed no longer reflect typical audience behaviour among many households in the UK.
In March, the corporation argued that those who watch streaming services should pay the licence fee.
The BBC says the licence fee still commands widespread public support (Getty)
Response from streaming services
Separating essentially what I watch and what I pay for feels like a significant market distortion.
Greg Peters, co-chief executive of Netflix,told the Sunday Times
A lack of transparency over Netflix’s viewing figures was a central issue of this year’s strikes by writers and actors (Photo: Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
news
Why you shouldn’t let your phone battery charge to 100%
Phones can die on you at the most inconvenient times – but this wasn’t always the case (Photo: Getty)
Technology is improving faster than ever, so why don’t phone batteries seem to last as long as they used to?
Why is it so hard to make your phone last the day?
Smartphones use lithium-ion batteries, the arrival of which 40 years ago was one of the breakthroughs that made mobile phones possible.
Today’s smartphones still use more or less the same kind of lithium-ion batteries as the first ones, but their efficiency has been increased.
However, the energy demands our phones make on those batteries has also increased.
How can you save power?
Train Wi-Fi often relies on dodgy mobile data signals (Photo: iStockphoto/Getty)
Turn off Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is particularly power hungry. Turning it off when remote can help save battery life.
Avoid AI features
The increasing use of AI in features like photo processing also drains power.
Caption: Smartphone with a glass speech bubble with the chatbot symbol inside.Chatbot concept. open AI, Artificial Intelligence.
Photographer: Francesco Carta fotografo
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Copyright: Francesco Carta
Caption: A mobile phone in a pink case charging battery by wire. A charging smartphone with cable on a wooden bedside table on a red brick wall backround
Photographer: Marina Demeshko
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
Never charge to 100 per cent
Batteries deteriorate when they get hot. Stopping charging before 100 per cent can prevent this.
Watch more from The i Paper
EXCLUSIVE | Could graduates soon pay back less of their student loan? Andy Burnham is being urged to back a plan to raise the student loan repayment threshold from £29,385 to £33,542, meaning some graduates would keep more of their monthly pay. Supporters say it could ease pressure on young people with Plan 2 loans, while critics will want to know how any change would be funded. With Labour support falling among graduates with student debt, student loan reform is becoming a major political test. Tap the link above to read how much graduates could save under the proposal ⬆️ #StudentLoan #StudentDebt #University #Graduation #Graduate #News
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news
Study reveals the real reason cats groom each other
Caption: A serene close-up portrait of a beautiful ginger tabby cat with striking striped fur, calmly gazing off to the side. This image perfectly captures the elegance, charm, and tranquil nature of domestic cats, making it ideal for pet-related content, lifestyle imagery, or design projects seeking a peaceful and warm aesthetic
Photographer: Anastasiia Voloshko
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
A new study on interactions between domestic cats suggests there may be multiple reasons why cats groom each other.
Grooming is not always friendly
While is has previously been thought that the act of grooming is an attempt to show affection, scientists now believe cats may have an ulterior motive for their incessant licking.
Make sure your cat isn’t suffering in the summer heat (Photo: Shutterstock)
A study conducted by researchers at Ghent University in Belgium suggests grooming can be deployed to annoy or intimidate another cat to obtain an advantage without resorting to violence.
How is grooming used?
Caption: Close up of a woman???s hand stroking a ginger cat???s chin as she lies on her lap and looks away with candid eyes
Photographer: RalucaHotupan
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
The study
The researchers recruited cat owners from 53 households and asked them to film everyday interactions.
When is it friendly?
They found that in friendly grooming encounters, the cats tended to sit or lie close together.
The microchipping scheme aims to reunite owners with lost or stolen pets (Photo: Marcel ter Bekke/Getty)
(Photo: Tatiana Meteleva/Getty).
When is it coercive?
In coercive encounters, one cat might lean over the other, while the cat being groomed might turn its ears backwards.
The expert view
For me, it shows that they are quite elegant in the way they resolve conflict. They could walk over and swat another cat in the face to get the blanket it is lying on. Instead, they lick it a little and fuss around.
Morgane Van Belle, researcher at ghent university
Affection for a beloved pet has immense value (Photo: Rafael Elias/Getty)
Caption: LONDON, UK, UNITED KINGDOM – 2019/05/27: Ann Widdecombe elected as a Member of the European Parliament ( MEP) for South West England is seen arriving at the EU election results press conference in Westminster. The newly formed Brexit Party wants the UK to leave the EU without an agreement won 10 of the UK’s 11 regions, gaining 28 seats, more than 32% of the vote across the country and are largest party in nine regions. (Photo by Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Photographer: SOPA Images
Provider: LightRocket via Getty Images
Source: LightRocket
Copyright: ? 2019 SOPA Images
crime
Ann Widdecombe‘s death – a timeline of what we know so far
Former MP and MEP Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries.
After initially saying the incident was not being treated as terrorism, the police investigation is now being led by counter-terrorism officers. Here is a timeline of what we know so far.
Wednesday 8 July
Widdecombe appears on TalkTV in the morning and is due to appear on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show after 1pm. She last sends a message at 12.19pm acknowledging she has received a Zoom link.
Widdecombe does not respond to a message asking her to join the call at 12.48pm, and does not answer further calls.
Explained
2 min read
Explained
5 min read
Thursday 9 July
Devon and Cornwall Police officers are called to the 78-year-old’s home at around 11.40am by the ambulance service.
The force later says Widdecombe was found dead inside the property and had sustained “serious injuries”.
Police add that they believe she was attacked on Wednesday at about 12.30pm, nearly 24 hours before she was found.
OPINION
4 min read
Friday 10 July
Widdecombe’s death is announced and police say they have launched a murder investigation.
A 26-year-old white British man is arrested in Newton Abbot on suspicion of the murder of Widdecombe.
Caption: Ann Widdecombe on TalkTV 8 July 2026
Mark Dolan in for Jeremy Kyle | 08-Jul-26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrJQBgf72IA
Police say the case is “not being treated as terrorism” and there was “no information” at this time to suggest it was a “politically-motivated crime”.
Saturday and Sunday
11-12 July
Police confirm the 26-year-old man has been released from custody and is no longer part of the investigation.
A 28-year-old white British man is arrested in South Yorkshire on suspicion of murder shortly after 9pm on Saturday.
Police investigating the alleged murder say they “are not looking for anyone else” after the arrest of the 28-year-old, and that there “is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident”.
Monday 13 July
Police say the senior politician’s death is being treated as an act of terrorism and that new information and evidence had come to light during the investigation.
Ann Widdecombe is a former Conservative MP and Cabinet minister. (Photo: David Levenson/Getty Images)
Police presence will remain high in the area of Haytor throughout the weekend where Ann was discovered (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty)
Counter-terrorism officers rearrest the 28-year-old on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism and are now leading the probe.
Police could be allowed to hold the suspect for up to 14 days for questioning under terrorism legislation if needed.
Do some foods leave
you feeling hungry rather than satiated? Experts say there are…
Foods that leave you hungrier
A bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice
More refined cereals are digested quickly, and fruit juice, whilst one of your five-a-day, contains less fibre than whole fruit. This might mean you find yourself hungry again within 1-2 hours of eating this breakfast.
No more orange juice. (Photo via pixaby)
It’s estimated ultra processed foods make up at least half of the average UK diet (Photo: Getty)
Swap the orange juice for a whole orange, the cereal for oats and milk or serve it with Greek yoghurt or a boiled egg. This would increase the fibre and protein content; two nutrients strongly linked with fullness.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Caption: Gail’s croissant
Image taken from https://gails.com/collections/breakfast/products/croissant
Croissants
These pastries are made primarily from refined flour and butter, and are relatively low in protein and fibre.
Toast and jam
It is mostly carbohydrate and without protein or fibre, it is digested quickly, leaving you feeling hungry.
Caption: Toasted bread and white background
Photographer: Daniel Tamas Mehes
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
Copyright: Minden jog fenntartva!
Yakitori’s on the menu at the Japanese restaurant – but what exactly is it? (Photo: Reuters)
Sushi
Shop-bought packs can contain a lot of white rice, which is digested quickly, and the protein content is often modest.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Sarawak laksa is one of many varieties of this noodle soup (Photo: Tham Kee Chuan/Getty)
Vegetable soup
On its own, it is often very low in protein and calories, so hunger can return quickly.
Pizza
Unless it’s loaded with veggies, it’s probably pretty low in fibre.
Best pizza in Britain named – and owner reveals the secret to its success (Photo: James Linsell Clark/SWNS)
The Government has announced that the sugar tax will be extended to milkshakes (Photo: Scott Suchman)
Smoothies
Liquids are generally less filling as they require little chewing which may not trigger satiety signals.
Foods that leave you hungrier
‘Aged 14, I started what I considered to be my own little business selling confectionary,’ writes Beauty Dhlamini (Photo: Getty)
Snack bars
They are ideal for a quick pick-me-up, but if reducing hunger is what you’re after, it’d be better to swap it out.
Low-fat yoghurt
A full-fat plain Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds tends to be much more filling due to the protein, fat and fibre.
Which yoghurts are the best options? (Unsplash)
Caption: BANGKOK, THAILAND – OCTOBER 17: A “KT Herbalist”, a Kratom cocktail made from Kratom, coffee and siamese herbs is seen at Teens of Thailand, a bar in Bangkok’s Chinatown on October 17, 2021 in Bangkok, Thailand. In April 2021, the start of Thailand’s third and most deadly wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thai government banned the sale of alcohol in restaurants and bars, crippling the already suffering food and beverage industry. With a lack of government aid and support, some bars have shuttered their doors in hopes of reopening post-lockdown, while others shuttered their doors for good. But six months into Thailand’s most recent lockdown, Niks Anuman-Rajadhon, owner of Teens of Thailand, a gin bar located in a renovated shophouse in Bangkok’s Chinatown, decided that instead of waiting for the government to allow the sale of alcohol again, they would take advantage of Thailand’s recent legalization of Kratom. Kratom is a locally grown herbal drug with mild opioid and stimulant effects and was reclassified from a type-5 narcotic to a legal-to-grow herb in August 2021. While Thailand prepares for a tentative reopening on November 1st, the alcohol ban and curfew are set to continue, leaving business owners questioning if the country can revive its suffering tourism industry. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
Photographer: Lauren DeCicca
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images AsiaPac
Alcohol
On an empty stomach, it can actually increase your appetite.
What to eat instead
Instead of thinking about avoiding foods, think about what you can add to them.
Add beans, lentils or shredded chicken to your vegetable soup and pasta.
Thicken your smoothies with Greek yoghurt, chia seeds and oats.
Apple slices with peanut butter, yogurt with berries and hummus with oat biscuits are better snack options than a pre-made snack bar.
Have alcohol alongside a balanced meal containing protein and fibre.
Vital support such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and child mental health services are run via regional NHS commissioning groups, known as integrated care boards (ICBs).
But a record number of children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – council-funded documents that describe a child’s needs and unlock extra support – has pushed services to breaking point.
The Department of Health and Social Care said there had been “no change to statutory functions”, meaning the NHS must continue to meet its statutory duties to deliver SEND services. The department said it was “working closely with local areas to ensure they are not disrupted”.
Frontline staff ‘doubt SEND is a priority’
It comes as the Department for Education (DfE) invests £1.8bn in its new “experts at hand” service, which aims to make it easier for mainstream schools to recruit professionals such as speech and language therapists (SALTs) and occupational therapists (OTs).
But one frontline health professional told the Institute for Government that “recent ICB redundancies have fallen disproportionately on SEND teams, who were already severely stretched”.
Another ICB representative told the institute that in their local area, there were plans to merge 15 jobs across urgent care, mental health, and children’s services into just one role.
“Cuts of this magnitude risk eroding institutional knowledge and capacity, and leaving front-line staff doubtful that SEND is a priority – yet all this is happening entirely independently of the government’s SEND reforms,” according to the IfG report.
The DfE funding of £1.8bn is part of wider SEND reforms, backed by £4bn, to boost early intervention and see more pupils educated at mainstream schools, with special schools reserved for those with the most complex needs.
In addition, the Government is investing £40m to “grow the specialist workforce of educational psychologists and speech and language therapists”, according to DfE guidance on the experts at hand offer.
Of this, £15m will go towards establishing new speech and language therapy advanced practitioners in every ICB area.
Uncertainty plaguing reforms
The sweeping reforms are set to be underpinned by the new Education for All Bill, set out in Parliament in the King’s Speech. It is set to be introduced this autumn to “raise standards in schools and introduce generational reforms”.
But concerns have been raised over whether the SEND workforce can meet current demand, with the number of EHCPs increasing to 638,700 as of January last year – 10.8 per cent higher than the year before and 80 per cent higher than in 2018-19.
A report by the Education Policy Institute, published on Tuesday, called on ministers to increase the number of educational psychologists and speech and language therapists, and improve access to paediatric services and child and adolescent mental Health services (CAMHS).
SEND parents have reported struggling to access appropriate speech and language therapy for non-verbal children; long NHS wait lists for child mental health support; and limited contact hours with child psychologists and therapists.
England’s largest teaching union, the National Education Union, warned in March that more investment in the SEND workforce was needed to achieve the Government’s goals.
However, the Institute for Government argued that “uncertainty” in the health services was “perhaps the most debilitating” aspect of SEND reform – as the NHS workforce is depleting.
In May 2025, the NHS designated SEND services under “review for transfer” out of integrated care boards, suggesting they may no longer be an ICB responsibility. More than six months later, the NHS confirmed to ICBs that SEND would “remain their responsibility”, without clarifying how these services would be managed, according to the report.
This led to staff redundancies that have “landed quite disproportionately on the health teams that specialise in delivering special educational needs services”, according to Amber Dellar, a researcher on the IfG’s public services team who wrote the report.
“That going on alongside other parts of government saying, ‘What we really need is for health services to have more special educational needs professionals’ … while at the same time the NHS is potentially making a disproportionate number of them redundant, it’s really just very counterproductive,” Dellar told The i Paper.
Redundancies ‘should not be happening’
The IfG highlighted a wider “lack of co-ordination” between government departments, with the DfE and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) both separately raising concerns with the Cabinet Office over a disjointed approach – “but to no avail”.
It revealed that both departments have launched separate projects to understand how implementing the SEND reforms will affect them, suggesting that “ongoing attempts to co-ordinate the reforms in the centre are themselves uncoordinated”.
The IfG added that the Department of Health and Social Care was “shocked to hear where redundancies were falling and insisted this should not be happening” and deferred to the NHS as the “decision maker”.
But the IfG said it was “unacceptable” that the Government department was failing to take “greater oversight of a system it is expected to lead in under a year” and warned that the NHS restructure “threatens to derail SEND reform before it has properly begun”.
The report has recommended a new cross-government working group to set a shared vision for the SEND reforms as well as a clearer national picture of spending and workforce capacity across SEND and children’s services.
It also argued that health input into SEND provision should be “commissioned locally rather than through the NHS – if SEND is not a priority for DHSC”.
A Government spokesperson said: “We are proud to be delivering the biggest reform to the SEND system in a generation, backed by £4bn, to make sure every child gets the right support.”
It added: “We have made clear that ICBs must continue to meet their SEND responsibilities and work with local authorities to improve services and outcomes for children and young people.”