Chris Coghlan asked at PMQs if SEND reforms will weaken children's tribunal rights. Surrey accounts for 229 of the 1,253 family testimonies he has collected.
The SEND tribunal “will remain a key legal backstop”, the government told Horley’s MP at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. Chris Coghlan had asked whether planned reforms would weaken the legal protections of children with special educational needs and disabilities.
This article discusses the deaths of two children. If you are struggling, Samaritans answers free, day or night, on 116 123. Childline is free for under-19s on 0800 1111.
Mr Coghlan, the Liberal Democrat MP for Dorking and Horley, built his question around 13-year-old Eivie White. He told the Commons that she took her own life after eight years of refusals by her local authority to support her autism. He said her best friend died in the same way six months later, also aged 13.
Neither his question nor his office’s press release names that local authority. Nothing in them says it was Surrey.
What was said in the Commons
Mr Coghlan asked, according to Hansard:
“As local authority misconduct has led to children’s deaths, do the Government still plan to weaken children’s legal protections, especially at tribunal, in the SEND reforms?”
Andy Burnham was away with the King at the Commonwealth meeting in Antigua. Louise Haigh, the First Secretary of State, answered in his place:
“I am sure the whole House’s thoughts are with Eivie and her friend’s families and all who loved them. This is a tragic case, and one that absolutely highlights the importance of reforming SEND.”
She gave these commitments:
- education, health and care plans (EHCPs) “will remain part of the system”
- parents “will continue to be involved in decisions about their children’s support”
- “the tribunal will remain a key legal backstop”
- the Education Secretary “is more than happy to meet” Mr Coghlan about the case
She did not say whether the tribunal’s powers would change. Mr Coghlan’s office says he shares campaigners’ concerns that the Schools White Paper, published in February, could restrict the right of appeal.
Surrey has the most testimonies
Eivie’s story is one of 1,253 anonymous testimonies from 134 local authorities in England, Mr Coghlan’s office says. It says 204 of them refer to suicide, and that he gave the collection to the government in February.
Surrey County Council is the special educational needs authority for every family in Reigate and Banstead. Reigate News counted the entries by council in the document his office sent us. Surrey has 229 of the 1,253, or 18%. Next come Kent with 40, Derbyshire with 37, and West Sussex and Hampshire with 35 each.
That gap needs care. The collection came from a public call for evidence, so it counts who responded and not how often things go wrong. Mr Coghlan’s campaign began in Surrey before it went national. And 74 of the Surrey entries carry the same submission date, 1 August 2025.
A word search of the document finds the word “suicide” or a variant in 40 of the Surrey entries. A mention does not record a death.
The entries are the families’ own words and are unverified, the document itself warns. None mentions Reigate, Redhill, Horley or Banstead by name, and we have checked none of them. Asked what they wanted to change, Surrey families wrote:
“A system for enforcing Tribunal orders that does not cost money.”
“Honesty, transparency, integrity, and treated with kindness and compassion rather than contempt.”
“A less complicated process- this shouldn’t be a fight. Keep ehcp- only legal protection our child has!!”
What the MP alleges
On his website, Mr Coghlan writes that “in places like Surrey, the truth has been buried”. He claims the county council hid for over a year that it had the country’s highest tribunal complaint rate. These are his claims, and we have not seen a response from the council to today’s question.
He also writes:
“If we reduce their SEND rights and throw our children to local authorities we cannot trust, we throw away their lives.”
He told MPs that “the police are now involved”. His office says some families are bringing criminal proceedings against local authorities for misconduct in public office.
In Surrey, the police closed two such investigations in August and nobody was charged. Surrey Police is now investigating complaints about how it handled them.
If you need support
- Samaritans: free, day or night, on 116 123
- Childline: free for under-19s on 0800 1111
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