Lengthy waits for SEND services have been highlighted in Ofsted reports for Local Area Partnerships in Blackburn with Darwen and Walsall.

The reports issued ahead of a £4bn support package for SEND announced by the Government today.

Commenting on behalf of Blackburn with Darwen, NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB's chief executive, Aaron Cummins, said: ‘The ICB is aware that the lengthy waiting times to access some health services are unacceptable. This is not only a challenge locally but also nationally, owing to a huge increase in the number of children seeking support. Sadly, as a result, some children and young people's needs are not identified and met as quickly and effectively as they should be.  A range of improvement programmes are in place to transform services with long waiting times, and to improve the experiences of children and young people with SEND and their families, which will be taken forward as part of the system-wide improvement plan in response to the inspection.'

Turning to Walsall, while noting ‘significant development' to support children and young people with SEND needs, Ofsted also identified delays when trying to access health services such as children and adolescent mental health services, speech and language therapy, dietetics and dysphagia (eating and drinking difficulties) services, and neurodevelopmental assessments.

Sally Roberts, chief nurse at NHS Black Country ICB, said: ‘We welcome the inspectors' recognition of the progress made across the partnership and the strengthened culture of collaboration in Walsall. However, we fully acknowledge the findings regarding delays in access to some health services.

‘We are using the learning from this inspection to accelerate work on clinical capacity, strengthening joint commissioning and improving how services work together. Our shared priority is to ensure children and young people receive timely, high-quality support, and we remain committed to delivering sustainable improvement for families across Walsall.'