Interview – Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Party leader

Ahead of the visit, Sir Ed called for the introduction of a national body for SEND to end the postcode lottery of provision, as well as more funding for Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. According to the Liberal Democrats, Essex is within the ten worst-performing regions for issuing plans.

Do the Lib Dems still plan to offer 30 hours to children from the age of nine months, and 35 hours of care for deprived children? How would you achieve this?

Yes. We’ve been very disappointed that the Government hasn’t prepared the ground.

We’ve had nurseries going out of business. We’ve had childminders giving up. It’s not being supported. There’s no point promising parents the hours when you haven’t got the people there who are able to provide that childcare. And we need to have trained nursery staff – it’s a profession. I think people are sick and tired of empty promises when the obvious isn’t done to make sure they can be backed.

How would you fund the entitlement?

You’ve got to fund it as a priority! The Government said they are putting huge amounts of money into the offer. The more you listen to ministers, they’ve got the money, it’s not a problem, they say, but they clearly haven’t been putting it in the right place. Really the issue is the lack of preparation with this Government. They should have been spending the money and keeping nurseries going and keeping childminders on the books, training more for the last few years, but they’ve failed to do that.

The education secretary admitted they will need an extra 40,000 staff to deliver the full expanded entitlement. With your childcare plan being similar, how will this be accomplished?

Well, that is the challenge, but frankly, we’ve known this for a long time. It’s not news that we’ve got a shortage in the profession and people are leaving. So whoever wins the next election and whoever is in parliament, this has got to be a priority. I hope the Government uses its last few weeks and months in power to fast-track training and recruitment and retention, but they’ve been so shambolic to date.

You have called for a national SEND body to end the postcode lottery of provision…

We are facing twin crises in SEND provision and local government funding, and it’s clear that the Government can’t get a grip on either. With a national body for SEND, and improved support for local authorities to deliver EHC plans, we can ensure that all of our children can access the tailored learning and healthcare they need to flourish.

Lib Dem proposed policies

The political party proposed the following policies during its 2023 autumn conference:

• Fix the problems with the expansion of free childcare, starting with a review of rates paid to providers to ensure they cover actual costs of delivering high-quality provision.
• Invest in high-quality early years education and close the attainment gap by:

giving disadvantaged children aged two to four an extra five free hours a week

tripling the Early Years Pupil Premium to £1,000 a year

paying an enhanced rate of Child Benefit for one-year-olds.

• Develop a career strategy for nursery staff, including a training programme, with the majority of those working with children aged two to four to have a relevant early years qualification or be working towards one.
  
  
• Special educational needs and disabilities:

Give local authorities extra funding to halve the amount that schools pay towards the costs of a child’s additional SEN support.

Help to end the postcode lottery in SEND provision by establishing a new national body for SEND.

• Build 150,000 social homes each year, and give councils the power to borrow to build.
  
  

Biography

Sir Ed Davey has been the Liberal Democrat leader since August 2020, and recently oversaw the party’s three by-election victories. He has served in the shadow cabinet in a number of posts and was Parliamentary under-secretary of state for employment relations and consumer affairs at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills from May 2010 to February 2012, when his party was in a coalition government with the Conservatives.

Born in Nottinghamshire in the 1960s, Sir Ed has campaigned for investment in the NHS and social care throughout his parliamentary career, having been a carer for most of his life. Sir Ed is married with two children. Their first child, John, has a neurological disorder.