SCC Cllr Clack issued clarification on Surrey SEND Reform Plan and recent correspondence from Surrey Liberal Democrat MPs

The following update was shared with our MP and all local councillors, including Buckland’s parish councillors, and, in the interests of openness is published here for all Buckland residents to read.

“I note the publication on Facebook of another letter from Surrey Liberal Democrat MPs which may lead to misunderstanding or misinformation amongst councillors, stakeholders and residents in Surrey. Although the letter was addressed to the Minister for School Standards rather than directly to Surrey County Council, I have decided to take this opportunity to inform elected members and set the record straight regarding Surrey’s SEND Reform Plan and the wider context of national SEND reform.

The concerns raised by Surrey’s Liberal Democrat MPs reflect the very real pressures facing the SEND system nationally. However, their letter appears to misunderstand both the Department for Education’s national reform programme and the purpose and content of Surrey’s SEND Reform Plan.

Surrey’s SEND Reform Plan has been co-produced with the Surrey Additional Needs and Disabilities (AND) Partnership, informed by detailed analysis of local need and demand and approved by the Department for Education in line with its national reform framework. The Plan was also shared with the leadership of East and West Surrey authorities before publication and at the point it was submitted to the Department for Education for review. No feedback was received during that process.

It is important to be clear that Surrey’s SEND Reform Plan is not designed to reduce access to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), nor does it assume that levels of need will decline. The Department for Education’s reform programme recognises that demand will continue to rise. Its objective is to slow the rate of growth in EHCPs by ensuring children’s needs are identified and supported earlier, with stronger provision available in mainstream settings wherever appropriate.

Children and young people who meet the statutory criteria for an EHCP will continue to receive one. Indeed, Surrey’s own forecasts anticipate continuing growth in demand, with more than 20,500 EHCPs expected to be in place by 2029.

As a Council, we have consistently supported the principle of early intervention and prevention, and we would expect there to be broad agreement across fellow Members and MPs that identifying and addressing needs at the earliest opportunity delivers better outcomes for children and young people.

There also appears to be some misunderstanding regarding the £8.3 million investment in the Experts at Hand programme. This funding is targeted government investment intended to strengthen specialist expertise, support earlier intervention and build capacity within schools and educational settings. It is not funding allocated to individual children. Its purpose is to help more children and young people access support sooner, closer to home, and in a way that reduces escalation of need wherever possible. This approach is fully aligned with the national direction of SEND reform, which seeks to improve inclusion, strengthen mainstream provision and deliver better outcomes for children and families.

Similarly, suggestions that Surrey’s SEND Reform Plan creates an impossible financial position for future unitary councils do not reflect the broader reality facing local government. The significant pressures associated with high-needs funding and home-to-school transport costs are longstanding national challenges affecting councils across England. They are not a consequence of Surrey’s response to the government’s requirement for a local SEND reform plan, nor of the government’s proposed reforms, which are intended to address precisely these systemic challenges.

It is also important to recognise that no single reform plan can solve every challenge facing the SEND system. Surrey’s Reform Plan is intended to provide a clear and evidence-based framework for strengthening early intervention, increasing inclusion, improving outcomes for children and young people, and ensuring specialist provision is available for those who need it.

Our focus remains on working constructively with the Department for Education, schools, partners, families and the Surrey AND Partnership to deliver these improvements and ensure children and young people with SEND receive the support they need to thrive.

I hope this clarification is helpful and assists members in understanding the purpose of Surrey’s SEND Reform Plan and the context within which it has been developed.

Yours sincerely,

Helyn

Mrs Helyn Clack, Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Lifelong Learning,
Surrey County Council, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8EF

Published 23rd October 2026