The crisis in providing for children with special educational needs and disabilities risks creating a "lost generation", the parliamentary watchdog has warned.

A new report by the Public Accounts Committee calls for urgent action to tackle the "unviable" Send system, which has left "almost half" of local authorities close to bankruptcy, and families facing a "postcode lottery" of waiting times to access services.

What did the commentators say?
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has accepted the report findings but asked for a "bit of patience" while the government plans Send reforms. But there is "no time to wait" with the "system in crisis", said The i Paper. Bringing it back "from the brink" requires "improving mainstream school Send provision", introducing "more special schools and specialist staff", and resisting "further cuts" to local authorities' budgets.

Parents denied "education, health and care plans" for their children by their local authority often go on to obtain them through appeal at tribunal, leaving councils at the "mercy of tribunals demanding that needs must be met, regardless of financial deficits", said The Guardian.

To make real change, though, those involved in education planning need to "reframe" the thinking around the "reality of learner complexity", said Margaret Mulholland in TES magazine. "Diverse learners" are still thought of as "costly" exceptions to the norm, yet 40% of pupils will be classified as having Send needs at some point during their education. The whole system must be reformed to "represent the complex, cognitive, social and emotional diversity in our classrooms".

What next?
The government plans to write off £3.2 billion in "high-needs spending" deficits for local authorities and provide them with "sustainable long-term funding", said The Guardian.

But "money alone will not fix the educational needs of Send children", said Stefano Hatfield in The i Paper. The answer is "more, better trained, in-school professionals, as well as parents being more honest about their own children’s needs". But the "reality is that we all have to manage our expectations about what a little money can achieve, however painful that is".

Two of the world's richest and most powerful men have launched two of the world's largest rockets this week, in an escalation of their corporate space race.

Tesla boss Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos are gunning for top-dog status in the commercial space business with their respective companies SpaceX and Blue Origin.

What's happened this week?
SpaceX's Falcon 9, the most-launched orbital rocket in history, lifted off from Florida yesterday carrying more of its Starlink internet satellites as well as Moon landers for Nasa. Musk's company is also conducting its seventh test flight of its new Starship mega-rocket, scheduled to blast off from Texas tonight.

Blue Origin today launched its New Glenn rocket from Florida on an inaugural mission into space, the first step into Earth's orbit for Bezos's company as it aims to take on the – until now – dominant SpaceX.

So who's winning?
SpaceX, by a light year. It has so far "dramatically outperformed" Blue Origin, launching rockets 134 times last year, said the BBC. But today's New Glenn launch is a "major step forward" for Blue Origin.

Musk could leverage his enormous influence over the incoming Trump administration to "undercut" Blue Origin, said Reuters. But New Glenn is expected to "chip away at SpaceX's market dominance" and "kickstart" Blue Origin's emergence in the satellite launch business.

What about the future of space exploration?
Experts believe the New Glenn launch could "create real competition between the two companies", said the BBC, and "drive down the costs" of space exploration. Nasa is "increasingly moving away" from relying on public money and government funding, and has issued "huge contracts" worth billions to private companies, most notably SpaceX. So the growing power of both companies could affect Nasa's plans to send crewed missions back to the Moon.

Last month Musk said the US should head for Mars before returning to the Moon – "fuelling concerns of a major shake-up" to Nasa's programme, said Metro. Trump has also repeatedly fixated on Mars during rallies. But Bezos is clear that he believes the US should do both. And they aren't the only "massively rich billionaires" in the space race: don't forget Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. The skies "could be getting crowded".

The Cameron Mackintosh-backed revival of Lionel Bart's timeless musical is a "richly realised triumph", said Sarah Crompton on What'sOnStage. Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, the "magnificent" show was first seen in Chichester last summer and has now touched down in London's West End – and before opening night, it had already extended its run into next year.

Bourne and his co-director Jean-Pierre van der Spuy effortlessly balance the darker elements of Charles Dickens' novel with "jaunty tunes and cockney knees-up dance numbers", said Marianka Swain in London Theatre.

The "spry, stripped-back, fluent staging" is enhanced by Lez Brotherston's "shape-shifting design": one moment we're "plunged into the depths of a grim workhouse", the next we're "discovering the strange treasure trove that is Fagin's lair".

"The detail is meticulous," said Nick Curtis in London's The Standard. Bourne has crafted a "more intimate version" of the musical that "evokes the spirit of the 1960 premiere" while treating its more complex elements with "finesse and delicacy". 

Of course, much of any show's ability to "hold an audience enraptured" comes down to the "juvenile lead", said Dominic Cavendish in The Telegraph. Cian Eagle-Service (one of four rotating Olivers) puts on a "top-notch" performance. With his "expressive face" and "searing solos", you "couldn't ask for more, sir".

Until 29 March 2026 at the Gielgud Theatre, London

Stop all the outrage — we can handle Trump
Edward Lucas in The Times
With all "the doom and gloom" about Donald Trump’s return to power, you’d think Britain was "being cast from the Garden of Eden into the wilderness", writes Edward Lucas. But the Atlantic alliance has "always involved difficulties" and we can handle the incoming US administration "if we drop our prissiness". We should "stop wincing about Trump's hyperbolic rhetoric" and "offer deals". He "likes personal relationships" and is "highly transactional".

A 100% tax on Brits buying homes in Spain sounds satisfying – but it won't solve our housing crisis
María Ramírez in The Guardian
Housing has "become the most pressing concern for Spaniards", which explains proposals for a 100% tax on property purchases by non-EU buyers, writes María Ramírez. But while this "might alleviate the pressure in a few holiday areas", it's a "drop in the ocean". Spain's "decentralised political structure" means "serious housing reform" is "complicated". Taxing British housebuyers "might be eye-catching" but it "won't make things easier" for Spaniards "struggling to find a place to live".

Fire and floods: the rise of climate whiplash
Anjana Ahuja in the Financial Times
As Los Angeles burns, it "feels odd" to remember the record-breaking rainfall and snow of previous winters, writes Anjana Ahuja. Although "wildfires and floods seem meteorological opposites", they're "two sides of the same climate coin". Extreme rains and drought are "grim enough on their own" but "sharp switching" between them "destroys infrastructure" and "threatens health". LA, "home of the fake Hollywood dystopia", is now "showing us what it looks like for real".