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Special Educational Needs

: As ever, my hon. Friend makes a valuable point. We need to listen to professionals and parents who recognise that the environment is changing and that what might have been appropriate five or six years ago might not be appropriate now. Government and LEAs need to be much more nimble about understanding the way in which the environment has changed. My hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Bedfordshire rightly pointed out that the presumption in favour of mainstream schools in the 2001 Act is leading to a systemic bias towards the mainstream, and working against providing a greater choice of special schools for parents and their children.