Frustrated households at ‘disaster level’ over particular wants assist, Angela Rayner admits
Angela Rayner has admitted children with special educational needs and disabilities are being “let down by the system at the moment”.
The Deputy PM said kids who desperately need help are still not getting the “best value” despite the record £1billion pledged to SEND provision by the Labour government She said frustrated families have been left at “crisis point” and that proper reform of the system is needed.
In her first grilling at the housing committee on Tuesday, Ms Rayner told MPs: “Whilst we’re putting more funding in and there’s record levels of funding going in, I don’t think we’re getting the best value for the young people who desperately need their needs to be met, and we’re not meeting their needs early enough and they’re being let down by the system at the moment.”
Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing, Community and Local Government Secretary, said joined-up action across government was vital to changing outcomes for children. She referred to long waiting lists for kids to get mental health support or speech and language therapy, adding: “We’ve been concentrating on having the resources available and the early intervention so that we can support families, so it doesn’t have to feel like you have to fight the system.
“I think part of that is around looking at different types of provision that’s available, but how joined up those services are as well – with health, education, housing, local government – so that people don’t have to navigate a myriad of various different places where they go and find one door slams, and they have to go on knocking another one. It’s incredibly frustrating for families in those circumstances, and it costs us huge sums of money, and we don’t have good outcomes for those young people.”
Be the first with news from Mirror Politics
BLUESKY: Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here – Lizzy Buchan, Jason Beattie, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke, Ashley Cowburn, Mikey Smith
POLITICS WHATSAPP: Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
NEWSLETTER: Or sign up here to the Mirror’s Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox.
PODCAST: And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday.
Elsewhere in the committee grilling Ms Rayner admitted the Government’s target for 1.5million new homes would only leave “a dent” in the country’s housing need. She said they are “achievable targets” that have been set by ministers, but also that it would only go someway to delivering “the houses we desperately need”.
She told the committee: “I’ve set that target and most people to be honest […] say ‘this is ridiculous we can’t make that target’. If somebody wants to come forward and beat that target we’re not going to turn around and say no you can’t do that.”
Ms Rayner also said that the Government wants to bring forward plans for changes to leasehold in 2025, telling MPs: “We want to do that within this year, bring forward the legislation.” Reforms to leasehold were announced in the King’s Speech last summer.
