Demand councils fund our services
The special educational needs system (SEND) is “financially unsustainable”. That’s what a report from the National Audit Office has found. Anyone who has engaged in SEND services provided (if that’s the word for it) by local councils would be aware of the crisis.
With increasing numbers of children needing SEND services, council funding cut to the bone, and no councillors standing up and fighting for the funding their residents need, councils have shut down services and cut SEND transport. And there doesn’t seem likely to be the much-needed funding provided in Starmer’s first budget, so the deficit for providing these vital services will only increase.
Adeel Janjua, a parent of a child who needs SEND support, spoke at a public meeting of Waltham Forest Trades Council against cuts to disability services in his area.
I stand before you not only on behalf of my son Aayan, but also as a voice for those who have been systematically silenced and neglected under the main political parties. This includes kids like Aayan all over the UK, and adults with special needs.
Over the last few years, all of us have witnessed and some have suffered the dismantling of essential social services, in the name of balancing the books. These decisions have had devastating consequences, particularly for the weakest among us. Sometimes this may mean absolutely violating constitutional entitlements, as in my son’s case: the local authority has failed to find him a school place since 2021. He is now in the second consecutive academic year that he has been kept out of school.
Photo: Paula Mitchell
People who get elected with our votes decide to take no action. In my case, I sent an email to the leader of the council and cabinet lead in July. To date, only an acknowledgement has landed back in my email.
My son has no school place at all. He gets peanuts in the name of funding and that was after some struggle. He has no educational psychologist, no occupational therapist, no speech and language specialist. We are denied an ADHD assessment and autism assessment.
My son is not alone in his fight, he is like 7,000 in Waltham Forest, 200,000 in London and 1.7 million in England who don’t have a diagnosis and/or support.
The political decision-makers think that by dismissing legitimate demands of people and their families, like you and me, we will sit down muted.
No, we will not sit down. We will stand up, we will be loud and clear, we will speak out on meeting platforms, social media and media. We will fight them in the courts. When the time comes, we will pay these politicians back with our votes.
And we all know that these failings are the logical consequence of years of the last government’s policies — policies that favour the wealthy while taking away help from those who need it most. Vital services like those for people with special needs are seen as expendable, while in fact this is a lifeline for them. Now, the Labour government is extensively using the word ‘change’, but we don’t see change, we see a continuation of the same policy.
What we need now is a bold, socialist vision — one that puts people first and restores the support systems that local communities rely on. I believe in a society where no one is left behind; where everyone, regardless of their ability or circumstances, has the right to live with dignity, and have educational resources.
A government truly committed to fairness would ensure that every disabled person has access to the support and education they deserve. We must also demand the reversal of cuts to local government funding. It’s time to invest in public services, not to cut them.
Now, the question is: what can you do? What can I do? The answer is simple but powerful. Organise. Speak out. Demand change from your local representatives. Attend local council meetings, write to your MPs, and make your voice heard.
More than that, we need to come together as a community. Solidarity is the answer to the problems created by Conservative and Labour neglect. If they won’t fight for us, we will fight for ourselves.
The strength of a society is measured not by the wealth of its wealthiest members but by how it treats its weakest. Under Conservative and Labour rule, we have failed this test. But together, we can turn things around. It’s time to embrace a new vision, one based on solidarity, compassion, and collective action.
In the words of the great socialist thinker Karl Marx, “The social revolution… cannot draw its poetry from the past, but only from the future.” It is time to start building the future that we know is possible — a future where every citizen, including our disabled community, is valued and supported.