Sight of children wearing ear defenders in school is ‘insane’, Richard Tice says

The sight of children wearing ear defenders in school is “insane”, Reform UK’s deputy leader said as he claimed neurodiverse conditions such as ADHD are being overdiagnosed.

Richard Tice, setting out the progress of Reform’s Doge (Department of government efficiency) unit at a press conference in Westminster on Monday, said that if the “crisis” in the special educational needs and disabilities (Send) system is not resolved, there will be “no bins collected”.

Mr Tice said that there is a “crisis of overdiagnosis of children with neurodiverse issues”.

Asked what Reform can do to tackle this, he said: “The best thing to do actually, is to push almost all of it back to the schools. The schools know best, the teachers know best.

“And stop labelling people, just say ‘you need a bit of extra support, you might need a bit of extra time’.

“You’ve got to the mad situation now where children who don’t have any form of label are starting to feel left out.

“They’re feeling that in inverted commas, they’re the normal minority, it’s insane and it’s becoming a sort of school joke.

“I’ll just raise one more point, the sight of children in classes wearing ear defenders, I’m sorry, this is just insane. It’s got to stop. The teachers want it to stop. Heads want it to stop. It’s not the right way forward.”

Recent research from the County Councils Network (CCN) and Isos Partnership projects that Send debts will reach £17.8 billion by 2029 — nearly £1,000 per child and young person in England and more than councils spent on children’s social care last year.

Councils have kept these high-needs deficits off their balance sheets using a statutory override, now extended to March 2028, but more than half of councils surveyed (59) said they would go bankrupt as soon as the override ends.

Mr Tice also said that annual reviews of education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which are legal documents setting out support required for young people with Send, are “unnecessary” and are costing “two to four grand a pop”.

He added: “It’s just not fair and it’s not fair to the children most in need, who are not getting the provision they require in the speed they require it.”

Joey Nettleton Burrows of the National Autistic Society said: “Parents aren’t profiting from the education system, they are spending time and money fighting against a broken Send system, just to get the most basic support at school.

“Claiming there is ‘overdiagnosis’ couldn’t be further from the truth. The system needs reform to meet the needs of all children, so that Send children, including autistic young people, can access a suitable school place and thrive.

“Spreading these kinds of lies stigmatises autistic people and makes life harder for them and their families.”

Mr Tice also set out that the Reform’s local authorities are making savings totalling “well over” £300 million by tackling wasteful spending and that more than 136,000 potholes had been filled in since May.

Reform UK secured 677 seats at the local elections in May and took over several formerly Conservative-controlled authorities including Derbyshire, Kent, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and West Northamptonshire.

The party also gained Doncaster from Labour.