Written question asked by Lord Walney (Crossbench) on Thursday, 22 January 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 5 February 2026. It was answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern (Labour) on Thursday, 5 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Question: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of variations between local education authorities in England in the levels of funding per student for specialist provision for students with education, health and care plans.

Answer: Although funding allocated to local authorities through the high needs block of their dedicated schools grant is mainly for specialist provision, a significant proportion is allocated locally to schools outside their area who have students with education, health and care (EHC) plans, to mainstream provision for those students with EHC plans and for those without EHC plans who require special educational needs support. It is therefore impossible to compare local authorities’ per-student funding for specialist provision on any like-for-like measure using the data available.

Secondary information