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Special Educational Needs

: I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I shall cover that exact point in just a few moments. Whether the Government intended it or not, a by-product of the 2001 Act is that LEAs believe that educating all children in mainstream schools is Government policy. What is the evidence for that? According to lay parent representatives and tribunal barristers, when a parent requests specialist provision, in either an MLD or a special school, it is almost always refused in the first instance. Having spoken to MPs of all parties and to many organisations, I know that they overwhelmingly concur with that conclusion.