Over 500 schools within the Independent Schools Council (of which Alistair Lexden was for some years General Secretary) have pupils with special needs—some of them very severely disabled—whose places are supported financially by local education authorities.
During the Lords Committee stage of the Children and Families Bill on November 4, he pressed the government to ensure that under the new legislation parents and young people with special needs continue to have the right of access to excellent provision in the independent sector which they enjoy now.