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Special Educational Needs

: I am rarely asked to provide yet more guidance to LEAs. The hon. Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Binley) might have something to say if I did. There is a code of practice. We also produce substantial elaboration of the Government's policy and set out how it should be implemented at local levels. Things are then left to local authorities. I do not doubt that some interpret provisions differently, but none of them should interpret them to mean that the Government's policy is to include all children in mainstream education. That is nonsensical and not sensible. It is not the Government's policy. We want choice for parents. As the hon. Lady said, some parents want mainstream education. For many parents, it is absolutely possible and right that their children should be educated in the mainstream, and we support that. It is clear, however, that the population of children with special educational needs is changing. There are increasing numbers of children with profound and complex impairments and learning difficulties. She referred specifically to Asperger's and autistic spectrum disorders. Local provision has to change to meet those changing needs and it is doing so. Since the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, local authorities—not Ministers—make decisions about school reorganisations and closures. That is right. They have to secure sufficient schools for the children in their area. They must pay particular regard to the need for the provision of special educational needs. They have to listen to parents and consult. If there are proposals to close a special school, they must be published and consulted on widely, as well as discussed with parents. If there were a dispute, the school's adjudicator, who is independent of the Government and of the local authority, would make a decision. That is the right way in which to deal with such issues; it is not for Whitehall to revert to type pre-1998 and decree which schools should open and which schools should close. Good as they are at many things, my officials are not in the best position to do that. In local areas, such matters should be decided on the basis of national policies, but decided by local people. That is the current position. It is true that special schools have closed over the years, as the population of children with special educational needs has changed. Some 234 closed between 1986 and 1997; 122 have closed since then. Local arrangements have led to fewer special schools closing. I should also make the point that special schools often close because they are moved to new buildings or premises or because there is new mainstream provision with attached units. Such provision might be better for some children; they would be close to a mainstream school and have experience of both types of schooling. The issue is not just one of special schools closing, bad; special schools opening, good. However, I accept the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North (Kelvin Hopkins) and others: special school provision is vital. My hon. Friend referred to ideology; I have never heard him do that before. It is clear that there is ideology both ways in the disability movement. However, in the Government we do not allow that to sway us too much.