County Council Leader Appeals to MPs Not to ‘Talk Down’ Children’s Services

Published on: 21 May, 2025
Updated on: 21 May, 2025

By Emily Dalton

local democracy reporter

Surrey County Council has made an apparent U-turn on MPs’ engagement with cases involving Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The council has denied it is closing down channels of communication, and county council leader Tim Oliver has pleaded with MPs to not “talk down” children’s services but work constructively.

See: MPs Unite in Criticism of SCC’s Handling of SEND Cases

Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs had written separate letters to Clare Curran, the county councillor in charge of children’s services, after she sent out an email saying the department would respond to fewer constituent SEND cases raised by MPs.

Cllr Clare Curran

MPs had expressed their shock and concern in respective letters over Cllr Curran’s statement that the service “will no longer provide a response to individual cases where a more appropriate alternative route is available”.

But at a full council meeting on May 20, Cllr Curran (Con, Bookham & Fetcham West) said she is “not closing down any channels of communication”. The cabinet member said: “I set aside any impression that I may have given that I don’t want to hear from MPs or that any lines of communication are being cut back, closed or shut down which is absolutely not the case.”

The Conservative councillor said she just wanted to reiterate and remind MPs that in some cases where a final decision has been taken, the appropriate route for the family to follow without delay, is to use a formal appeals panel.

Cllr Eber Kington

Cllr Eber Kington, from the Residents’ Association and Independents group, raised the issue at the meeting. He argued it was important that councillors and MPs did not have “communication barriers put in place by children’s services” if their input was “not deemed appropriate or convenient”.

Will Forster MP

At the meeting, Woking’s MP Will Forster, who is also a county councillor, asked if Cllr Curran thinks the policy fits with the council’s “leave no one behind” approach. The Lib Dem MP said he had about 40 active SEND cases.

The Conservative leader of Surrey County Council, Tim Oliver (Weybridge), explained that Surrey has over 16,000 children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs), one of the highest in the country.

Tim Oliver – Leader of Surrey County Council

In a speech to full council, Cllr Oliver urged MPs to “not talk down” Surrey’s SEND service and “wilfully mislead the public”.

He encouraged MPs to “use your position to speak up for Surrey in Parliament, not to talk down a service that needs urgent national reform and support this council and government to implement reforms that work for our children, their families, and for all councils across the country.”