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<p>The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to have regard to
the importance of the child or young person, and the child’s parents, participating
as fully as possible in decisions, and being provided with the information and support
necessary to enable participation in those decisions. All local authorities must have
arrangements for information and advice and should ensure that advice and guidance
for children and young people is tailored appropriately for them. All local authorities
must publish a local offer about all their services. One of the requirements of local
offers is that they must be accessible to the local population, which does include
ensuring access those for whom English is not their first language. The special educational
needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice also makes clear that the format of
an education, health and care (EHC) plan is agreed locally. Local authorities must
decide on the languages that EHC plans are available in, depending on local need.</p><p>In
addition, it is the department’s aim, through the proposals set out in the Special
Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper
to provide parents and carers with a clearer understanding of the support that should
be available to meet their child’s needs. This includes a proposal to standardise
the EHC plan process to drive consistency in how needs are identified and assessed.
The public consultation for the Green Paper is due to close on 22 July 2022.</p>
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