King’s speech includes SEND legislation but plans for more disability benefit cuts are dropped… for now

The government included a bill to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in yesterday’s king’s speech, but it also signalled a delay to any plans for further cuts to disability benefits.

The education for all bill follows the publication of a schools and SEND white paper and a SEND consultation document in February.

Background notes released yesterday (Wednesday) show the bill will mirror the white paper, even though a consultation on the government’s plans does not end until Monday.

Although the government insists its plans are subject to consultation responses, it claims the bill will “transform support for children and young people with SEND by providing early access to support close to home and ensuring all schools, nurseries and colleges deliver the stretching, rewarding education that all children and young people deserve”.

It also promises to build “a truly inclusive education system”, even though inclusive education campaigners made it clear in February that they saw the reforms as a missed opportunity to dismantle the barriers that continue to drive disabled young people out of mainstream schools.

Disability News Service (DNS) revealed in February that the “generational” reforms would increase the proportion of children in “specialist” placements over the next nine years, despite ministers claiming they were moving towards more “mainstream inclusion”.

Despite reports earlier in the week that the king’s speech would include a new welfare reform bill, the chaos surrounding the prime minister’s future appears to have led to that bill being dropped from the government’s legislative plans for the next year.

Reports had suggested that this bill would include plans – first mentioned in last year’s Pathways to Work green paper – to remove the health element of universal credit for disabled people under the age of 22.

Instead, yesterday’s speech – delivered by the king in the House of Lords – said ministers would respond in due course to the reports of the Milburn and Timms reviews, and “continue to reform the welfare system to support both young and disabled people to flourish in work as the basis for long-term economic security”.

Interim reports from both reviews are expected this summer, before final reports are sent to work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden later this year; they are likely to lead to a welfare reform bill next year.

Former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn is leading an inquiry into young people and work – focusing on young disabled people – but disabled activists have raised concerns that he appears set to target those who are neurodivergent or who experience mental ill-health, distress or trauma.

Milburn has previously called on the government to cut benefits for disabled people who are out-of-work, and for the Department for Work and Pensions to introduce a “duty to engage” with employment support for all benefit claimants.

Sir Stephen Timms, the minister for social security and disability, is leading a review of personal independence payment (PIP), which the government claims will ensure the disability benefit is “fair and fit for the future in a changing world”, but which many disabled people fear will recommend significant spending cuts.

The king’s speech included two other bills that could have a significant impact on disabled people.

A draft taxi and private hire vehicle bill will aim to modernise laws around taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs), replacing “a patchwork of outdated, Victorian-era rules with a single, consistent framework across England that passengers and drivers can trust”.

The notes say the bill will deliver “more accessible services for disabled passengers, by strengthening existing protections and removing barriers to travel”.

The Department for Transport (DfT) told DNS the bill will provide regulators with stronger powers to act when drivers or operators breach their licence conditions.

This will include taking action against drivers and operators who do not meet their obligations towards disabled passengers under the Equality Act, for example by refusing to carry a passenger with a guide dog or charging a disabled passenger more than a non-disabled passenger for the same service.

DfT will also consider placing a duty on local authorities to assess demand for wheelchair-accessible vehicles and then develop policies that ensure the local taxi and PHV fleet meets that demand.

Taxis and PHVs are “disproportionately used by disabled people”, while people with mobility impairments make almost 70 per cent more taxi or PHV trips per year compared to those without mobility difficulties.

The government also announced plans for a civil aviation bill, which it says will “strengthen consumer rights and protections, promote economic growth and infrastructure provision, and enhance aviation safety”, and which it says will ensure “fair treatment” and boost consumer confidence.

The notes point out that satisfaction levels with air travel among disabled passengers are lower (82 per cent) than overall passenger satisfaction levels (88 per cent), according to results from a UK Civil Aviation Authority survey earlier this year.

Dissatisfied passengers are most likely to mention flight disruption, overcrowding, accessibility issues, and high prices for some services, the government said.

DfT told DNS today that the bill would introduce new powers for the transport secretary to amend existing passenger rights regulations and introduce new regulations, which could be used, for example, to introduce changes to compensation for damaged or lost mobility aids.

Picture: The king reads the speech in the House of Lords. Picture by House of Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0