The long-awaited overhaul of special educational needs education is set to be delayed yet again, giving the Government an uphill task of getting legislation on the books in this Parliament.
Ministers had been expected to publish their response to the consultation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform this month. It is suggesting more support in mainstream schools and fewer care plans.
But multiple Whitehall sources say the timetable has slipped to the new year, although the Department for Education has declined to confirm when its response will be published.
From mogging to friendslop – words of the year revealed
Collins English Dictionary has unveiled its hotly debated top words of 2026, with Gen Z slang, influenced by social media and the manosphere, coming through into the mainstream.
Uses of mogging increased 210 per cent this year.
Mogging the other words
Anything can be mogged now.
Mary O’Neill, who works at Collins, told the term was “adopted by ‘looksmaxxers’, basically to say they were better and more handsome and more muscular than anyone else”.
It means “the act of outshining or outperforming someone or something” and was partly popularised by manosphere figures like Clavicular.
What else was on the shortlist?
- Aside from word of the year mogging, the other shortlisted words included bixie, carspreading, p(doom) and Manchesterism.
- Manchesterism refers to the political philosophy opined by Andy Burnham.
- And, depressingly, p(doom) is the estimate of how likely it is that AI will bring about the collapse of civilisation.
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Hair gets shorter, cars get bigger
- Bixie refers to the popular haircut between a bob and a pixie.
- Carspreading means “the tendency of manufacturers to build cars that are longer, wider and heavier”.
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Why job satisfaction across UK is at a record low
Analysis by the Resolution Foundation think-tank found that pay and flexibility have become key issues employees have with their working arrangements.
The key findings
The study found a significant decline in satisfaction at work among the UK population.
Job satisfaction fell from 81 per cent in 2015 to just 74 per cent a decade later, the lowest figure ever recorded in the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey.
The number of people who reported being interested in their job or having the sense that they had opportunity for progression was also down.
Sir John Curtice, co-editor of the BSA report, suggested it has become more important for employers “to provide jobs that are both financial rewarding and have flexible work hours” in order to produce happier workers.
What does this mean?
Hannah Slaughter, of the Resolution Foundation, said: “This ‘dissatisfaction drain’ is self-evidently bad for workers, but it also doesn’t bode well for productivity and labour supply.”
Tenerife footballer dies aged 30 after on-pitch collision
Jesús de Miguel suffered a serious injury after colliding with the opposition goalkeeper in a match on Monday.
What happened?
The 30-year-old CD Tenerife forward was playing in a second-division match against Andorra, when he was struck in the chest by their goalie, Jesús Owono.
De Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital. He died at 8am on Tuesday, according to his club.
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The sequence of events
- Owono’s knee appeared to collide with De Miguel while challenging in the midfield, according to reports.
- It occurred in the final minutes of the game, which at that point was drawn 2-2.
- The forward reportedly lay motionless on the pitch and distressed players called for medical aid. He was treated for more than five minutes on the pitch before being rushed to hospital by ambulance.
What the club has said
There are no words of comfort – there is absolutely nothing that can lessen this overwhelming sadness. We stand with his grieving family, with his loved ones, with all of Tenerife who mourn this cruel loss today.
CD tenerife, in a statement today
When the BBC licence fee could be axed
Ministers are set to announce proposals to reform the £180-a-year charge in a White Paper setting out the terms of a new BBC charter next month.
A few of the options
New charter by 2028
Insiders believe the licence fee could gradually transition to something new over several years.
Streaming tax
The Government is considering extending the charge to streaming services – which could cost £6.25 a month.
Broadband levy
This would cost £11 per month, £4 a month cheaper than the current licence fee.
What else is on the table?
- BBC director-general Matt Brittin has suggested that the BBC could use a German-style funding model.
All households in Germany pay €18.36 per month (£15.70) to fund all public TV and radio broadcasters across different states.
Brittin predicted the scheme would enable the current fee to be reduced by 20 per cent from its current level.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has looked at whether the BBC should be allowed to take advertising around some of its services.
A final option could be to let the licence fee continue its decline and give the BBC the commercial freedom to raise more funds itself.
A BBC spokesman said: “The current funding model is outdated and needs reform. We will continue to engage with government to secure a new charter.”
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Watch more from The i Paper
How rapid delivery services are ‘fuelling’ alcohol harm
A group of MPs, health leaders and charities have argued the availability of strong and cheap alcohol should be tackled via minimum unit pricing (MUP) in England.
What does the letter say?
- In a letter to Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, 55 experts said that the evidence from Scotland and Wales, where MUP has already been introduced, is “clear and compelling”.
- The letter reads: “Very strong, very cheap alcohol is available everywhere in this country, from our supermarkets to our corner shops and increasingly via online rapid delivery services.”
- They argued the current conditions allow for “escalating alcohol harm”.
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The story in numbers
Between 2019 and 2023, deaths in England increased by a “staggering”
42%
and have not returned to pre-pandemic levels since.
The authors said that alcohol harm is estimated to cost
£27.4bn
a year, with £4.9bn of this “shouldered by the NHS”.
Human and economic costs
Labour MP Cat Smith said: “The human and economic costs are now far too high to ignore.”
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, warned England “is in danger of becoming the UK’s alcohol harm outlier”.
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Mahmood announces new immigration rules – what we know
The Home Secretary was forced to back down over proposals to make care workers wait 15 years to qualify for permanent residence.
What you need to know
Shabana Mahmood revised plans to force many low-paid workers, including carers, to wait up to 15 years before being granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
On Monday, she scrapped these plans for care workers. But other professions have not seen the same reversal.
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Why the change of heart?
Mahmood introduced the carve out for care workers after intense backlash from Labour MPs. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner called the retrospective plan “un-British”.
Workers in a set list of public service jobs – such as doctors, nurses and teachers – will also be able to qualify for ILR after five years, even if they do not meet the new salary threshold of £50,271.
Routes to settlement
Under the new system, legal migrants will be able to settle on the following timelines:
- 3 years: additional rate taxpayers earning over £125,141, as well as highly skilled individuals on Global Talent and Innovator Founder visas.
- 5 years: higher rate taxpayers earning over £50,271, as well as skilled public service workers.
- 10 years: the new standard route for everyone else.
- 20 years: anyone who claims certain benefits while in the UK or commits a visa offence.
Watch more from The i Paper
The delay threatens to squeeze an already tight schedule to pass the Education for All Bill and have the new system ready by September 2029.
The next general election must be held by August 2029 – meaning the legislation will need to progress before voters go to the polls.
Delays risk prolonging financial crisis
It also risks prolonging the financial crisis facing councils, which are struggling to meet the rising cost of legally required support.
One Whitehall source said the hold-up would “lengthen the timetable and thus mean that the trajectory for Education, health and care plans (EHCPs) to come down will be more gradual”.
ECHPs are legal documents setting out the support a child must receive. Ministers want them reserved for pupils with the most complex needs by 2035, but demand for the plans continues to grow.
The claims come ahead of Lucy Powell’s first appearance before the Education Select Committee since becoming Education Secretary in July. MPs are expected to question her on the timetable for SEND legislation when she gives evidence on Wednesday morning.
It would not be the first delay. The schools white paper setting out the reforms had been due in autumn 2025, but ministers pushed its publication back to early 2026. It was eventually published in February.
The latest uncertainty will also intensify questions over how much of the package devised by her predecessor, Bridget Phillipson, will survive.
Care plans only for those with most complex needs
Under the proposals, support would be organised into four levels. The first, known as the universal offer, would see mainstream schools provide better support for all pupils, including those with additional needs.
Children requiring more help could receive targeted support, such as small-group teaching and tailored classroom materials, or targeted plus, which would give them access to specialists including speech and language therapists.
At the highest level, children with the most complex needs would receive specialist support through nationally defined packages of provision, with EHCPs retained to guarantee their legal entitlements.
The Government says the new system will allow more children to get help earlier without having to secure an EHCP. But campaigners fear that children who currently qualify for legally protected support could lose some of those rights if they no longer meet the proposed threshold for specialist provision.
A group of 36 campaigners, including Chris Packham, Sally Phillips and Simon Baron-Cohen, wrote to ministers last month urging them to abandon key elements of the proposals.
Dash for EHCPs
For families, the uncertainty comes as the SEND system faces unprecedented pressure. Some 718,800 children and young people had an EHCP in January – up 12.5 per cent in a year and the sharpest annual rise since the plans were introduced in 2014.
Council leaders say applications have surged since the reforms were unveiled, as parents and schools rush to secure support before the rules change. A longer wait for clarity could prolong that rush.
The financial pressures are mounting despite the Government having paid £5.79bn to 129 councils to cover 90 per cent of their accumulated SEND deficits up to March 2026.
However, new deficits are already building. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects councils’ SEND deficits to rise from £2.8bn in 2025-26 to £4.2bn this financial year and £5.7bn in 2027-28.
The Government has promised further support for councils, but says it will not be unlimited.
The County Councils Network forecasts that, even after the Government’s bailout, councils’ SEND deficits will rebuild to £4.8bn by March 2027 and £10.4bn a year later. It is calling for ministers to write off 90 per cent of this newly accumulated debt too, warning that anything less would be a “financial catastrophe”.
Local authorities must pay for transport to and from schools for EHCP pupils. Often this is by taxi. The Local Government Association estimated the cost for local authorities for home to school transport in 2025/26 at £2.5bn, with SEND accounting for around 70 per cent of this
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are on track to deliver our once-in-a-generation SEND reforms, and are completely committed to the implementation timelines set out in the Schools White Paper.
“Backed by £4 billion investment, we are already taking action to transform the system – backing schools to improve inclusion, widening access to specialist support and rolling out training for every teacher.
“We’re carefully reviewing the responses to our consultation and will announce next steps soon.”