Starmer braced for fresh rebellion over reforms to special needs support
Sir Keir Starmer is reported to face another rebellion about reforms to support children with special needs in the UK, just days after a humiliating climb in the Welfare Cuttings.
On Sunday, training secretary Bridget Phillipson insisted that ministers are currently determined to support learning difficulties or disabled children, which are currently costing 12 billion pounds per year.
However, he refused to scrape the important documents that families trust to guarantee expert assistance.
Education, Health and Maintenance Plans (EHCPs) are the legal documents that summarize the support required to help special needs and the support of disabled children to achieve key life results. Many see them as the only way to provide children’s support for children.
When asked if he would get rid of the EHCPs, Mrs. Phillipson described it as a “complex and sensitive area”.
By talking to BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuensberg He added the program: “What I can say very clearly is that we will strengthen and give better support for children.”
“I spend a lot of time to listen to parents, disabled rights groups, campaignists, others and colleagues in Parliament, because it is important to do it right, but he said“ hard ”.
But now he told senior labor figures Times The risk of being the “Welfare Mark”, claiming that the plans are ready to rebel against dozens of deputies.
“Now they will repeat the mistake they made with the welfare reform,” a Labor Party deputy government called the government.
“We are all in favor of reforming the system, but this money cannot be directed by saving and supporting children, iler they added.
A second Labor Party deputy said: orsa If they think that it is bad to get money from adults with disabilities, follow what will happen when they try the same thing as disabled children. ”
Sir Keir Comes After Forced He leaves an important board of controversial benefit cuts to take a great rebellion from the backbencher to Parliament.
In a shared letter GuardianThe campaigns said that without EHCP documents in the mainstream schools, it is against the risk of rejection of thousands of children or completely losing access to education ”.
“For more than 40 years, there was a right to education that meets the needs of children and young people with special education needs and obstacles.
“This, which is next to the disaster plans to reduce the benefits for disabled people, brings about who we are and the type of society we want to live as a country.
“Regardless of the problems of the sending system, the answer is not to eliminate the rights of children and young people. Families cannot lose these valuable legal guards.”
The letter includes charities, including charities, professors, actor Sally Phillips, and publisher Chris Packham.
The government said that it inherited a system of reference (special education needs and obstacles left on its knees ”and“ looking at changes ”to increase support for children and parents.
The data obtained from the Ministry of Education published in June showed that the number of EHCPs increased.
In total, in January 2025, there was an increase of 10.8 percent at the same point last year and 638,745 EHCP.
The number of new plans that started in 2024 increased by 15.8 percent in the previous year.
The demands of evaluating children for EHCPs increased by 11.8 percent in 2024 to 154,489.
An educational department spokesman said: “It is clear that this government has inherited a reference system on its knees – so we look at the changes to develop support for children and to stop having to fight for help.
“This government is actively working with parents and experts on solutions, including £ 740 million to encourage more specialist places to create more experts in mainstream schools to prevent the increase in needs.
“As a part of our change plan, we will restore the trust of the countries up and down their families, and to improve the healing that every child can achieve and develop.”
