Dr Al Pinkerton

Accountability is very often opacity. I have certainly seen examples of schools charging those fees I have just mentioned, in excess of £130,000 a year, with extremely opaque governance structures, so I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s intervention. We also need a fair funding guarantee and ringfenced central support for every child whose assessed needs exceed a defined cost threshold. Councils should never be forced to choose between their budgets and a child’s future. I say to the Minister, in the spirit of cross-party support and in the desire to ensure a better system for the future, “We share your concern about the broken system—but any reform must start with strengthening rights, not dismantling them.” That is why the Lib Dems are calling for a new national SEND body, an independent commission to oversee the most complex cases, guarantees of fair funding and performance tracking across England. I hope that we can come together across this House to publish a White Paper within three months, with clear timelines, resourcing and genuine co-production with parents and families. We need to extend the high-needs deficit override until councils are properly supported. Let us open every delayed special school in this Parliament, so that no child is left without a place. We must seize this opportunity, this moment, to get SEND reform right, before any more children are failed in Surrey or across these isles.