What will Keir Starmer and his colleagues learn from the disaster of their attempt to cut benefits? Most speculation so far has been focused on the prime minister’s prospects, and other ministerial careers. But there are soon going to be more big decisions to make, which will have massive consequences for people’s lives.

One policy area in particular is about to return the political conversation to the subject that defined last week’s fiasco: disability. Once again, Labour MPs from all wings of the party are feeling anxious and restless. Campaign groups and charities – not to mention the huge numbers of people who will be directly affected – fear the worst. With the wounds from the welfare bill fiasco still raw, there is a grim sense of a possible reprisal of the same story.

And this is why. The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, wants to reform England’s system of provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, or Send. Long years of Conservative failure – not least, reforms introduced a decade ago that were lamentably underfunded, and an exodus of children from mainstream to specialist schools – have resulted in ballooning costs amid disappointing outcomes. The councils that administer everything are crying out for help. The Treasury, meanwhile, surveys the mess and demands action.

A new education white paper will be published in the autumn. Phillipson says the government needs to “think very differently”. She wants to reverse a trend that took root in the Tory years and prioritise the inclusion of Send kids in mainstream schools. There is talk of somehow “making sure that all teachers are teachers of special educational needs [sic]”. A new neurodivergence task and finish group that will “work alongside the department to drive inclusive education” has been created; £740m of capital funding is being spent on “adapting classrooms to be more accessible and for creating specialist facilities”.

On the face of it, these moves are very welcome. But self-evidently, it will take much more – and a lot of time – to meaningfully turn things around. One of the big teaching unions has already said that without a commensurate increase in day-to-day schools spending, the plans could put “extreme pressure” on teachers. And there is an even bigger tension at the heart of the government’s plans.

Since Labour won the election, rising noise has been coming from Whitehall and beyond about drastically restricting the legal rights to dedicated provision that underpin the education of hundreds of thousands of children and young people. Those rights are enforced by the official Send tribunal, and embodied in education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which set out children’s needs and the provision they entail in a legally binding document. Contrary to what you read in certain news outlets, they are not any kind of “golden ticket”: parents and carers used to unreturned phone calls and long waits still frequently have to fight their local councils for the help their plans set out. But – and as a special needs parent, I speak from experience – they usually allow stressed-out families to just about sleep at night.

For about 40 years, such rights have been a cornerstone of the Send system. But their future is now uncertain: councils, in particular, are frantically lobbying ministers to get parents and their pesky rights out of the way. Late last year, a government source quoted in the Financial Times held out the prospect of “thousands fewer pupils” having access to rights-based provision. Despite the fact that EHCPs are most sorely needed in mainstream schools, a senior adviser to the Department for Education recently said that a consideration of whether EHCPs should no longer apply to children in exactly those settings is “the conversation we’re in the middle of”. There are whispers about families who currently have EHCPs being allowed to keep them, while in the future, kids with similar needs would be waved away, something that threatens a stereotypical two-tier model, another element with worrying echoes of the benefits disaster.

As a result, parents and carers – and many teachers – are terrified. Whenever ministers are asked about what is going to happen next, they tend to come out with the response: “no decision has been made”. On Sunday, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg challenged Phillipson on whether she is about to “get rid” of EHCPs, which was met with vague words about improved support in schools, familiar claims that the current system is too “adversarial”, and no specific answer. This, needless to say, is not exactly allaying people’s fears.

Just under 483,000 children and young people in English schools now have an EHCP, up 11% on the previous year’s figure. Their numbers have risen partly because ad hoc, informal special needs provision in schools has become so unreliable that the only way of having any chance of securing what a child needs is to apply for one. Official data shows that the majority of applications for EHCPs are initiated by schools and colleges, often as a last-ditch move. In short, many children desperately need them. Without the support such plans are meant to guarantee, even more pupils would either exit mainstream into specialist provision that is often eye-wateringly expensive, or end up joining the increasing numbers of kids who are not in formal education at all.

For the foreseeable future, because even an optimist would have to agree that improvements promised by the government will take years to really kick in, all that will remain the case. So the safest and most humane option would be to leave children’s legal entitlements in place, and start to improve Send provision as Phillipson wants, on the basis that boosted ad hoc help will naturally bring down EHCP numbers and costs. Instead, her most vivid move could be an awful rights grab, which would surely heighten the impression that this Labour party has an ingrained problem with issues around disability.

A new campaign titled Save Our Children’s Rights was launched over the weekend with a letter in the Guardian signed by leading figures from charities and lobby groups, including Disability Rights UK, the National Autistic Society and Mencap – as well as such high-profile Send parents as the broadcasters Christine McGuinness and Carrie Grant, along with the TV naturalist and neurodiversity campaigner Chris Packham (full disclosure: I am helping out, and I was one of the signatories). For the second time in less than six months, are these really the kind of people ministers want to argue with on Good Morning Britain, 5 Live and BBC Breakfast?

As I watched the benefits fiasco unfolding, knowing that the special needs story would soon explode, it brought one big thought to mind. Labour needs to stop sowing fear and dread among people whose lives are already full of those things. Instead of picking on vulnerable parts of the population who already view the future with deep anxiety, they should maybe go after much more powerful interests, who might be compelled into helping the government with its financial woes. Instead, fear is swirling around parts of society that are already unable to cope. Labour governments are meant to make people feel less scared, not more. If there is going to be yet another “reset”, this is where it should be focused.

There is one point that may yet bring clarity to the government’s thinking. Governing politicians habitually pretend they will win future elections. But there is now every chance that Reform UK might end up in power, possibly in partnership with whatever remains of the Conservatives. Judging by his recent pronouncements, Nigel Farage has very questionable views about special needs and disabilities. There is strong evidence that the same is true of Kemi Badenoch. The current fashion on the political right for nonsense about savagely cutting back the state would have deep implications for Send families. If Labour takes away so many children’s basic educational rights, it may well end up leaving them at the mercy of politicians who will then vandalise their lives. “No decision has been made,” say ministers. It is time they took the only morally and politically right one, and fast.

Five years ago, Traya Health, a holistic hair loss solution, was born out of a deeply personal health struggle faced by co-founder Saloni Anand and her husband. What began as a quest for personal well-being has blossomed into a pioneering brand that challenges conventional wisdom in the hair care industry. Saloni shared Traya’s science-first approach in a session at the ETBrandEquity Brand World Summit 2025.

The genesis of a solution

Saloni Anand, co-founder of Traya, recounted the origins of the brand. Her co-founder, armed with a biomedical chemistry background, embarked on extensive research to address his uncontrollable hypothyroidism. During this challenging journey, a surprising side effect emerged: his hair began to grow back.

“About two years later, we realised that this is something awesome, and everything out there in the industry is not able to grow hair, but we could, so there’s some potential to explore this,” Anand shared. This discovery spurred intensive research into hair science, revealing critical insights that would become the bedrock of Traya’s unique approach.

Dispelling hair loss myths: Traya’s foundational learnings

Traya’s deep dive into hair science led to three fundamental revelations that shaped their model:

Diagnosis is key: “We learned hair loss is genetic mostly, but has multiple types. Not everyone has hair loss because medically multiple types of it require diagnosis.”

Follicle potential: Hair regrowth is possible if follicles are still present, meaning it’s achievable for most individuals not in very advanced stages of hair loss.

No magic bullet: “There is no magic molecule for one product that can grow everyone’s hair. It’s a wider thing that’s happening. It’s more like diabetes than anything.”

Analysing the existing hair industry, Anand observed, “More than 10,000 products on Amazon today sell with the label of hair fall and are topical. Selling you a shampoo, conditioner that has wrongful claims, promising 30-day results, sometimes even worse.” This landscape, rife with superficial solutions, solidified Traya’s mission: “We are here to grow hair, and we will do everything it takes to get that emphasis.”

The “three sciences” model: Traya’s holistic prescription

The first year was dedicated solely to building formulations. This led to Traya’s distinctive model: a hair solution built on diagnosis and a holistic approach. The brand name, “Traya,” is Sanskrit for “three sciences,” embodying their core philosophy: Ayurveda, Allopathy (Dermatology) and Nutrition.

The consumer journey begins with an online diagnosis. The solution provided is a customised kit incorporating elements from all three sciences, including a diet plan, recognising that hair loss often stems from internal imbalances.

Initial skepticism from investors was high. Saloni and her husband launched Traya with personal funds. Six months later, with tangible results from their first critical trials, they secured their initial investment.

Breaking the rules: A D2C brand of the future

Traya today stands as a largely scaled, profitable brand, having served over 10 lakh Indians. A distinctive aspect of its D2C model is that 100 per cent of its revenue comes directly from its platform. “If you download the Traya app, take a long diagnosis. They buy a gift. If the consumer cannot choose which product they are buying. We tell them what they should buy,” Anand stated, emphasising their doctor-led, personalised approach.

Eighty per cent of Traya’s revenue comes from repeat customers. “This happened because we did not have the baggage of how,” she noted.

Education, retention and AI: The pillars of growth

Anand highlighted three critical pillars for modern D2C success:

Believe in education: Traya faced the challenge of educating consumers on why previous topical solutions had failed and why a holistic, science-backed approach was necessary. “Our journey from zero to one crore per month is really smooth. We really had to build these fundamentals,” she revealed. This rapid scale was driven by a deep commitment to educating their audience. Traya’s culture prohibits discussing competitor brands, focusing solely on their consumers. “The moment you do that and you just focus on your consumer, you have the ability to do something,” she added.

Retention over acquisition: Traya defines itself internally as a “habit building organisation,” treating hair loss as a chronic disease. Their North Star metric is retention, supported by a data-tech engine and over 800 hair coaches who ensure adherence and usage. “Back in 2023, when we were having that growth chart, we reached a point where we saw retention numbers there, and we cautiously stopped all our marketing scale up,” Anand disclosed. This move underscored their commitment to long-term customer success over short-term acquisition. “How can you be a D2C brand in 2025? That’s not too little but is just too little today to differentiate. Can you add a service there? Can you add a community? How can you be more than just a product gone?”

Embrace AI: While acknowledging AI as a buzzword, Anand firmly believes it will be a pivotal theme in brand building. Traya, despite its 800-person team, has already seen impressive results from integrating AI. “Three months ago, I took a mandate at Traya that no more tech hiring, and we are about since then, we have done zero tech hiring, and we’ve increased the tech productivity four times,” she shared, emphasising the transformative power of AI in consumer evaluation, discovery and shopping.

Saloni Anand concluded by summarising her key takeaways for aspiring D2C brands: “Think more than product solutions. Think of efficiency. Think science, if your product works, everything else will fall in place. Think AI. Think of the review word and think of retention first.”

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