Joe Morris

Joe Morris

Labour — Hexham

Speaking in the House of Commons on 25 February 2025

Debate

SEND Education Support

Contribution

My hon. Friend knows, as I think we all do, the strength of feeling from SEND parents, staff and teachers, who have been burnt out over 14 years of failure on SEND. I certainly have my frustrations with Northumberland county council’s wrong-headed, misguided and deluded approach to the SEND crisis in my county. That particularly comes across with the lack of provision in the west of Northumberland, when I am constantly confronted by families travelling from Haltwhistle, which is—for those here who are not familiar with the geography of my constituency—in the extreme west of Northumberland, all the way to the coast to Ashington, which is often a journey that exceeds 90 minutes either way. Accessing that provision is incredibly hard and draining. I want to put on record my thanks to the parents and staff at Hexham Priory school, who provide that supportive and caring environment, to local charities such as Mencap, and to individuals who constantly reach out to my office—I know that there were 11 places, for which 72 applied. This is a crisis that we must work to address.

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