In the third podcast in our series on a decade of the Children and Families Act 2014, SNJ ’s Tania and Renata talks to former SEND Minister, Edward Timpson, who steered the legislation through parliament. We discuss the battles he had to fight to create a legal duty on health in the Act, and to bring in Ofsted /CQC SEND inspections. What does he wish he’d been able to push further? And what else might be different if he hadn’t lost his seat—and ministerial role— in the 2017 election.

Edward Timpson grew up surrounded by children his parents fostered—more than 80 of them. It endowed him with a deep sense of empathy of the problems children face when their needs have not been met. As an MP and Children and Families Minister, he used that knowledge to push for legislative change for disabled children.

As he takes his leave of parliament, he discusses how he plans to work again as a family law barrister with the aim of becoming a judge so he can take decisions that positively affect children’s lives in a direct way.

Find the webpage for this episode here https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/snjic-edward-timpson-care-families-lives/