questionText: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department has provided to local authorities for Special Educational Needs and Disability First-tier Tribunal hearings in the past 12 months.
answerText: The department does not fund local authorities to cover the costs associated with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) first-tier tribunal hearings. Local authorities fund their legal costs from their operational budgets.
heading: Special Educational Needs: First-tier Tribunal