SEND plans: 'cost-cutting or reform'?

Coffee House Shots

Feb 23, 2026•9 min

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Episode description

Bridget Phillipson has unveiled Labour’s long-awaited overhaul of the special educational needs and disabilities system – a £4 billion reform designed to rein in spiralling costs and bring order to what MPs across the House describe as a broken model. Ministers insist this is reform, not retrenchment – but with councils under intense financial pressure and families fearful of losing hard-won support, Labour backbenchers are watching closely. Is this a genuine attempt to fix an unsustainable system, or just a cost-cutting exercise?

Tim Shipman speaks to Isabel Hardman.

Produced by Megan McElroy and Oscar Edmondson.

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