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Special Educational Needs (Information) Bill

It would not be for me in my ministerial role to do that. I shall attempt to acquire inspiration for a response to the hon. Lady's intervention during the course of my remarks. If I do not, I shall write to her later. However, the powers exist and I assure the House that if specific cases are brought to the attention of the Secretary of State we will investigate them. Not all local authorities fully comply with their duties, which is why we have asked the national strategies team of SEN national advisers to explore during their visits to local authorities their compliance with those duties. In Committee, I mentioned that local authorities have new duties to provide information. Since 1 April 2008, under the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities have had a duty to provide information, advice and assistance to parents of children and young people aged up to 20, or prospective parents. We have published guidance for local authorities that makes it clear that information that may be of benefit to parents should include details about schools, such as their location, composite prospectus, behaviour units and so on. The guidance also sets out the information that should be available to the parents of disabled children, such as the availability of local social services and specialist medical services.