Labour members of a council have appealed to the Prime Minister to fully fund SEND services.

Waltham Forest Labour have written to Boris Johnson appealing for him to commit to ‘fully funding’ Special educational needs and disability (SEND) services

Cllr Clare Coghill, leader of Waltham Forest and Cllr Grace Williams, Waltham Forest cabinet member for children, young people and families made the appeal on behalf of the Waltham Forest Labour Group - the 46 Labour councillors in Waltham Forest.

National funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has been cut by 17 per cent across England since 2015.

Waltham Forest council wrote to the then-education secretary Damien Hinds in July to ask the government to commit to additional funding for SEND.

The government has since committed to £700 million of increased national funding but the National Education Union estimates this is only just over a third of what is needed, with an additional £1 billion required to close the SEND funding gap.

Cllr Grace Williams said: “Families in Waltham Forest and across the country rely on these vital services and the government needs to fund SEND in full.

“Councils like ours are dependent on funding from Westminster, but the government’s austerity programme has seen funding slashed while demand has risen, leaving a national funding gap of £1 billion according to the NEU.

“So we’re calling on Boris Johnson directly: close the £1 billion funding gap and fund our children’s future.”