Lowestoft mum says £45m for special educational needs 'too late'

A mother whose disabled daughter waited more than a year for a council care plan has called £45m of special needs investment "too little, too late".

Suffolk County Council plans to fund hundreds of special educational needs places to help meet soaring demand.

Katie Hall, of Lowestoft, whose daughter Addie has who has epilepsy and is partially paralysed, said she hoped the funds would help other parents.

The council said it had to provide a suitable education for every child.

Ms Hall, 35, first applied for an education, health and care plan (EHC) for Addie in September 2017.

Once a plan is requested, the law says councils should normally finalise it within 20 weeks.

No EHC was produced until earlier this month and and the council has yet to provide a place for Addie in a special educational needs school.

"It makes me feel frustrated, it makes me feel angry," Ms Hall told the BBC.

"I hope the £45m helps but for many people I know, especially vulnerable people, this is too little, too late."

The council plans to create three new special schools and 36 specialist units attached to existing schools, which together would create 828 new specialist education places, says the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Gordon Jones, Conservative cabinet member for children's services, said: "It is vital we take swift and effective action to address both the current shortfall of special educational needs services in our county, but also build capacity with our partners for future demand."

A cabinet report published in September revealed Suffolk was facing an 18% increase in demand for specialist places, and needed an extra 300-400 new places by 2020.

Jo Hammond, of the Suffolk Parent Carer Network, which works with families needing support, said: "I think it's going to make a huge difference.

"The reality is there isn't enough provision to meet the needs."