Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Lord Touhig (Labour) on Wednesday, 20 May 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 June 2026. It was answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern (Labour) on Friday, 29 May 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Special Educational Needs: Staff

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the (1) number, and (2) availability, of trained professionals needed to meet the plan for Experts at Hand included in the schools white paper Every child achieving and thriving, published on 23 February.

Answer

The government is providing substantial, targeted investment to help local areas grow and strengthen their specialist workforce. Over the next three years, £1.8 billion will be made available to local area partnerships to develop and rollout of the Experts at Hand offer.

Local area partnerships will design and implement their own Experts at Hand models, tailored to local needs and workforce capacity, supported by strong national oversight. The department will set the overall framework, provide guidance and tools, and work closely with local areas to ensure consistent quality. We have also announced £15 million for new speech and language therapy advanced practitioner roles, as well as continuing our investment in the educational psychology workforce with £26 million to train at least 200 educational psychologists per year from 2026 and 2027, building on previous investment.

The department knows that continuing to build the specialist workforce is essential. It is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, as part of wider long-term workforce priorities such as the 10 Year Workforce Plan, to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL356
Session
2026-27
Related items
Subjects
Staff Special educational needs
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk