1 Introduction
1. In our report on Special Educational Needs published
in July 2006, we recommended that assessment of need and funding
of provision should no longer be carried out by the same body:
"There is an inbuilt conflict of interest
in that it is the duty of the local authority both to assess the
needs of the child and to arrange provision to meet those needs,
and all within a limited resource. The link must be broken between
assessment and funding of provision".[1]
2. In its response the DfES rejected this recommendation,
implying that the Committee had suggested that a new agency be
created to make assessments (which it had not) or that there was
no alternative to such an agency taking responsibility if local
authorities were no longer to make assessments. It also made a
series of other criticisms of the Committee's recommendation,
saying that to take such a decision would be "a leap in the
dark and would endanger the position of parents and children with
special educational needs".[2]
3. We made it clear when the Government reply was
published that we do not accept that separation of assessment
and funding would inevitably require the establishment of a new
agency or quango; that it would undermine the basis of the current
statementing system; or that it would necessarily reduce local
accountability for decisions, as the Government claims.
4. In an exchange between the Chairman of the Committee
and the Minister of State for Schools during an Opposition Day
debate on special needs on 30 January this year, the Minister
agreed that if the Committee put forward proposals on the practicalities
of implementing the separation of assessment from funding then
he would reconsider the matter.[3]
We therefore decided to examine this specific issue once again
to see if we can formulate a solution or a series of options which
would enable assessment of special needs to be separated from
funding of provision.
5. When announcing the inquiry, we indicated that
we would conduct it through written evidence alone and that we
would not hold oral evidence sessions. This was because of the
pressure of other inquiries and because we had so recently held
an extensive series of meetings on the subject. When the DfES
was split into two new departments, we had originally anticipated
that there would be insufficient time for us to complete this
inquiry and that we would ask our successors on the Children,
Schools and Families Committee to do so. As the House of Commons
has decided that the new Committee will not come into being until
the beginning of the next parliamentary session, we are pleased
that we have the opportunity to complete the task ourselves.
6. We have received 60 memoranda for this inquiry,
and we are grateful to all those who submitted evidence. They
have all provided thoughtful contributions to the debate which
we have considered carefully. All the memoranda have been posted
on our website.[4]
1 Education and Skills Committee, Third Report of Session
2005-06, Special Educational Needs, HC 478-I, para 99. Back
2
Government Response to the Education and Skills Committee report
on Special Educational Needs, Cm 6940, October 2006, page 5. Back
3
HC Deb, 30 January 2007, col 122. Back
4
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmeduski/memo/specialedneeds/contents.htm Back
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