Question: My LA (which is a Pathfinder) says
that based on what they have discovered so far they cannot afford to give all
children with a statement a new EHC plan. How will they decide who gets them
and who doesn't?
IPSEA’s answer: We are
hearing similar things, although we are also being assured by the Government
that this is not their intention. What we’ve heard from local authorities
amounts to two different effects caused by the switch to Plans coupled with the
reductions in LAs’ budgets:
1. To move all children currently with statements on to Plans
would mean reassessment, and they can’t afford that many reassessments (nor have they got the
staff to do it).
2. They are considering their own local thresholds for Plans to
reduce the need for them because of the effects of the cuts.
The
second of these would mean that far fewer children are assessed for Plans in
the future. Together with the removal of the duty on LAs to respond to a parent’s / school’s
request for assessment, this may mean that far fewer children have their
difficulties identified properly and therefore many more will miss out on the
help they need.
would that be the same for all those young people with learning difficulty assessments.
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