Surrey council’s decision to “restrict” communications about constituents’ education issues is “deeply troubling”, say MPs in the county.
Last week, the council emailed 13 local MPs to say the local authority “will no longer provide a response to individual cases where a more appropriate alternative route is available” on SEND, school transport and admissions.
The letter was sent by Clare Curran, Surrey’s cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning.
Curran’s email said: “We have identified that several of the contacts we receive from MP offices are about disagreements with decisions made by the Council. This includes disagreements with the content of an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), mainstream admissions placements and home to school transport.”
The email asked MPs to advise constituents to use the appeals process, before adding: “MP involvement cannot directly influence or change decisions made by the Council.
“The Council will no longer provide a response to individual cases where a more appropriate alternative route is available to the constituent. Further to this, the Council is unable to provide progress updates on any individual case following the response to an initial enquiry.”
She told Schools Week the move was to “remind them that the correct process for families who are dissatisfied with a final council decision is to challenge it by way of a formal appeal”.
But MPs reacted angrily this week, sending two letters to the council.
One was written by the county’s six Liberal Democrat MPs and the other by its seven Tory MPs, including Sir Jeremy Hunt, a former chancellor, and Claire Coutinho, the current shadow energy secretary and former children’s minister.
Lincoln Jopp, the Tory MP for Spelthorne, wrote on Facebook: “It is deeply troubling that Cllr Curran has written to all Surrey MPs seeking to restrict the level of engagement Surrey County Council will have with us on SEND matters.
“This decision risks families not getting the real help they need.”
‘We won’t be silenced,’ says MP
Al Pinkerton, the Liberal Democrat MP for Surrey Heath, said: “Residents rightly expect their MPs to advocate for them – especially vulnerable families navigating complex systems. Blocking that link only hurts those who need help the most.
“We are elected to speak up – and we won’t be silenced.”
The Lib Dems’ letter said that while it was right that parents were directed to the statutory appeals processes, “not everyone is aware of these or has the means to navigate these channels”.
Many cases were highlighted to the council “only after they have exhausted all routes or have been unable to receive a reply from you”.
“We contact SCC to highlight patterns that may be of interest to local government, explain individual circumstances or raising systemic issues that may warrant further scrutiny or improvement.
“The decision to sever communication between our offices and the council in this manner … ultimately harms the very people we are all here to serve: the residents of Surrey.”
The Tory MPs’ letter noted that Dame Kate Dethridge, the DfE’s regional director, saw MPs’ inboxes as a “useful weathervane” on the council’s quality of service.
“Given the delays which still exist across the system, from assessments, case-handling and school and transport allocations, we are sure you’d appreciate the continuing level of concern in the community … and that it is important for members of parliament to be able to raise these concerns,” their letter said.
“We are sure you will appreciate that limiting engagement with MPs who advocate for constituents in this way is likely to be concerning to the public.”
A third of surgeries spent on SEND
Coutinho said she spent “around a third of my constituency surgeries helping parents dealing with SEND and EHCP cases … on many occasions I have been able to find solutions to these cases by contacting Surrey County Council.
“I know from my time as SEND minister and my time working with parents of SEND children that the EHCP process can be extremely difficult to navigate.
“It is my role as your MP to hold these bodies to account and represent you when their services are simply not working as they should be.”
One Surrey parent of an autistic child told Schools Week: “The decisions that [the council] make are completely irrational and often the damage that they cause to families isn’t actually anything to do with underfunding and money. It’s to do with the way they make decisions and the way they treat families. And I think that the instruction to MPs just demonstrates how arrogant they are.”
She has previously gone to Pinkerton, her local MP, for help securing her child’s SEND provision. “I think that there’s been a bit of renewed hope amongst parents this week to see both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems jump on this.”
Surrey has one of the ten highest SEND tribunal appeal rates in England, and has had 198 SEND-related complaints upheld against it by the Local Government Ombudsman since the start of 2022.
Its most recent Ofsted SEND area inspection found that children with SEND had “inconsistent experiences and outcomes”.
Curran said in a statement: “We know and appreciate the important role MPs play for their constituents, and value strong relationships with our MPs, both about council services and policies, and their advocacy on behalf of Surrey to national government.
“We have clear channels of communication between all Surrey MPs and the council.
“The recent communication … was to remind them that the correct process for families who are dissatisfied with a final council decision is to challenge it by way of a formal appeal.
“This is the appropriate and most effective route for families, and information on how to do this is always included when families are notified in writing of the council’s decision.”
Your thoughts