Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby MPs quiz council leader on SEND funding

North Northamptonshire Council will receive £6.4m from the Government to make buildings accessible and create new special school places, an increase of £2.8m.

The letter, sent to Cllr Martin Griffiths today (March 30), asks for ‘urgent clarification’ on the Reform-led council’s plans for local SEND services.

Gen Kitchen, MP for Wellingborough and Rushden, said: “Week in week out, I hear from families in Wellingborough and Rushden who are struggling to access a suitable school setting for their child.

“Every time I visit a local school, SEND is one of the first things the leadership team will mention and so I’m proud to be part of Government that is addressing that, not only with major reforms to the system but with real funding to ensure that change happens.

“But I’m also hugely concerned by some of the comments from Reform politicians about SEND and I know many local families share those concerns. We are now looking from assurances from the Reform-led North Northamptonshire Council that they will distance themselves from those comments and ensure that this Government funding will be used to allow all local children can thrive.”

‘Inclusion Bases’ enable pupils to move seamlessly between specialist support and mainstream classes.

The MPs say the cash boost can also be used to make the school environment inclusive through adaptations to improve inclusivity and accessibility, like providing a more comfortable sensory environment by changing ventilation, acoustics and lighting.

Lee Barron, MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, said: “One of the main issues that desperate parents tell me about is the severe shortage of suitable specialist places for children with the most complex needs. This means parents stuck at home, unable to work and struggling to provide the education and support their children deserve. It’s good to see the Government putting resources into where they are most needed with this significant £6.4m additional investment for North Northamptonshire Council.

“The comments made about SEND by senior Reform party representatives are, quite frankly, appalling and need to be called out for what they are – disrespectful, heartless and uninformed.

“That’s why I am calling on the leader of Reform-led NNC to do the right thing for our most vulnerable families – by distancing himself from those derogatory comments and ensuring that additional funding is directed swiftly and effectively to the children and parents who need it most.”

Clarification is being sought by all three MPs on how the council plans to spend the funding following what they call the ‘ongoing poor treatment’ of children with SEND and their parents by representatives at the top of Reform UK.

The letter makes mention of instances such as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage saying that diagnosing children with additional needs has ‘created a class of victims’ in April 2025, and Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, saying SEND provision is being ‘hijacked by parents who are abusing the system’.

At the end of the letter, three questions have been posed to the leader of NNC, including how the £6.4m will be used, if Cllr Griffiths will distance himself from the comments made by leaders of Reform UK, and if he supports the Government’s work to ‘ensure that schools are set up to meet children’s needs’.

Rosie Wrighting, MP for Kettering, said: “This money is welcome for places like Kettering, where I am emailed almost every day about an issue a parent has with SEND provision. This Government is working to make sure that our education system works for everyone, and I welcome the steps they have taken so far to sort out the mess left when the Conservatives were in Government.”

North Northants Council has been asked for a response.