| SPOTLIGHT |
Three Warwickshire councillors have apologised after making offensive comments about children with special educational needs during a council meeting.
At a meeting of the council’s Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 25 January 2024, Cllr Brian Hammersley asked: “Why are there so many people now jumping out with these needs? Where were they in the past when I was at school?”
Cllr Jeff Morgan added: “Not automatically accepting the plea of a mother saying that little Willy has ADHD when in actual fact little Willy is just really badly behaved and needs some strict form of correction.”
The local authority subsequently received a number of complaints.
In response, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire, said the views and language used were “not representative of this council, its wider councillors and staff or our commitment to children and young people especially those with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities and their families”.
The local authority has confirmed that its monitoring officer has begun an investigation.
In a statement, Warwickshire County Council said: “It is clear that these comments have caused significant offence, distress and upset to children and their families within the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) community. The Council takes that very seriously.
“The Council wishes to emphasise that the comments made are not representative of the views of the wider council body including those councillors and officers who work so hard to provide support and opportunities for children with SEND. The Council has built strong relationships with groups within the SEND community, and we are conscious of the damage this situation may cause to those relationships.”
All three councillors have apologised personally for their comments, with Cllr Hammersley acknowledging his “clumsiness and lack of care in choosing [his] words”.
Cllr Morgan said it was “never my intention to offend, and I regret the words I used to make a point about demand and need in the SEND area”.
The third member, Cllr Clare Golby, said: “I accept that the words I used at the meeting were open to interpretation. I have spent many years working hard to support children and families in the SEND community and it was never my intention to offend.”
Lottie Winson
