Labour MPs welcome additional funding for SEND support.
Our city’s Labour MPs have welcomed news that Milton Keynes will receive extra funding to support children with special educational needs and disabilities as part of the Government’s ‘Plan for Change’.
Milton Keynes City Council will receive an extra £3.3m in funding for supporting children with SEND to access school places. The funding can be used to deliver adaptations, expand specialist units in mainstream schools, or create new places in special schools.
Milton Keynes currently has six special schools and another seven with specialist departments, but politicians say they expect demand on these services to continue to grow. Between 2015 and 2023, the number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in Milton Keynes rose by 40%, whilst the number of children needing support with autism almost doubled.
Emily Darlington, MP for Milton Keynes Central, said “The Conservatives left SEND provision in a woeful state nationally, with funding completely inadequate to meet the needs of our communities. Listening to the families who contact me about this, it’s clear just how let down they’ve been for over a decade, and how desperate they are for change. I’m glad that Labour is listening and that change is beginning.”
Callum Anderson, MP for Buckingham and Bletchley, said “We’ve got some fantastic special schools and specialist units in Milton Keynes, like Romans Field and White Spire in Bletchley. But we know that our excellent schools and council are making the best of a situation that is currently failing children and families - so I’m delighted to see Labour committing to properly reforming this system.”
Chris Curtis, MP for Milton Keynes North, said “Since becoming an MP I’ve heard story after story of families being impacted by a SEND support system that was neglected and underfunded by the last Government. It simply can’t continue. Children and young people deserve to achieve their full potential, and Labour will help them do that.”
Councillor Joe Hearnshaw, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People on Milton Keynes City Council, said “We are proud of the ever-expanding support we provide for children with SEND in our city, but it has been by no means easy to achieve. Finally having a Government that recognises that the system is broken and is committed to changing it will make an enormous difference to young people in Milton Keynes, and this additional funding is the first step of this"
