As reported by the BBC, mounting costs for special educational needs provision are pushing councils in England towards a financial cliff edge, with spending rising sharply and local leaders calling for urgent government intervention
New analysis from the Local Government Association suggests that as many as eight in 10 councils could be driven towards effective bankruptcy by the growing cost of supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.
According to projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility, total spending on SEND is expected to reach £14.8bn in 2025/26, nearly three times higher than the £5bn recorded a decade earlier.
Under current rules in England, mainstream schools are required to cover the first £6,000 of support for each pupil with SEND, a threshold that councils and school leaders say is adding further pressure to already stretched budgets.
The LGA is urging ministers to wipe out councils’ high-needs deficits and to pursue what it describes as bold, system-wide reform to stabilise local authority finances.
The government has said its forthcoming changes to the SEND system will focus on providing help at an earlier stage and are intended to put council funding on a more sustainable footing.
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