Is This a War on the Disabled?
If you’re a parent of a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), you’re probably used to fighting for every inch of support. But after the Schools Minister’s (Catherine McKinnell MP)
latest appearance before the Education Select Committee, you might be left wondering: is this really the best Labour can offer? And, more pointedly, is this government waging war on the disabled?
Let’s talk about what actually happened. The Minister, pressed for answers about the government’s plans to fix the spiraling SEND crisis, offered little more than a political shrug: “Wait for the schools white paper.” For thousands of families desperate for clarity, this was hardly reassuring.
Even MPs on the committee struggled to get a straight answer. Sir James Cleverly summed up the frustration: “I didn't hear anything in your opening introduction that gave me the slightest clue as to how you're going to fundamentally address what we all agree is currently an unsustainable situation.” That’s not just parliamentary nitpicking—it’s a reflection of what parents across the country are feeling.
The reality for many? More questions than answers. Parents want to know: “Will my child get the support in education that they need?” So far, there’s no clear response. Labour’s Catherine McKinnell tried to reassure everyone, claiming, “We won’t be removing any existing effective support.” But with no detail or plan, critics say this statement is as clear as mud.
Labour MP Jess Asato cut to the heart of the matter: “Many desperate parents have said that fighting for an EHCP [Education, Health and Care Plan]…has been the only lever that they had.” The committee chair didn’t mince words either, noting a “real collapse in the trust and confidence of parents in the system.”
Even the Minister conceded, “how difficult the system is currently for parents and carers and young people to navigate.” That’s an understatement for families who feel like every day is a battle.
The fundamental problem is clear: the system isn’t just complicated—it’s adversarial. And as was pointed out in the meeting, “the existence of the law doesn’t make the system adversarial: it’s non-compliance with the law that does that.” In other words, it’s not the rules that are broken—it’s the government’s willingness to follow them.
The Minister talked up a “less adversarial and more sustainable redress system,” but with no timetable, no roadmap, and no transparency, families are left clutching at promises instead of progress.
Helen Hayes MP asked what everyone was thinking: “Given all of that engagement, why you haven't launched a national engagement strategy…?” Why indeed.
Let’s be honest. With the government’s recent attacks on disability welfare—slashing benefits, tightening eligibility, and shifting the goalposts—it’s getting harder to believe that what we’re seeing isn’t a coordinated campaign against the disabled. When you combine those policies with the current chaos and confusion in SEND support, families have every right to worry.
Parents and children deserve better than platitudes and paperwork. They deserve a system that works, a government that listens, and the support they need—when they need it.
Until Labour can offer more than vague promises and empty reassurances, it’s fair to ask: whose side are they really on? For now, it certainly doesn’t feel like the side of the disabled.
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