Parents of children who need extra help to do well in school are to get a new legal right to buy-in specialist Special Educational Needs (SEN) and disabled care under coalition government proposals.

Parents will be given the power to control personal budgets for their children for the first time. This will allow them to make the decisions needed to get the expert support that is right for their child.

This is the biggest reform of SEN for 30 years and will force education, health and social care services to plan services together, making the system easier and less time-consuming for parents.

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green, commented:

“Liberal Democrats in the coalition government are doing the right thing to end the agonising battle many parents have had to fight to get the support for their children.

“Under the current system, a child’s welfare is often buried under the bureaucracy of getting the help needed as parents are passed from pillar to post between different authorities and agencies.

“These reforms will put parents in charge. They will provide better information for families, bring services together with families to provide a package of support that meets their needs, removing the cliff-edge at 16 and helping young people into work and living as independently as they can.”