Government to cover 90% of council's SEND deficits

The government has announced that it will pay off around 90% of the debts that English councils have built up through supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to the end of the financial year.

They say they will spend £5 billion to do so. There was relief amongst local councils. Just a few days earlier the Local Government Association (LGA) had warned that four in five English local authorities could be bankrupted by these rising costs, unless the government reformed the system. (See more in The Guardian.)

Rising costs

There is a legal duty on local councils to support children with special education needs, but rising demand has meant that in the last few years, they have been spending billions more than they receive from the government for these costs.

Read more about the changes on the BBC.

How will it work

The fund will be allocated through a High Needs Stability Grant, to qualifying local authorities, aimed at reducing their Dedicated Schools Grant deficits (DSGs). DSGs are the main funding stream for schools and SEND, including paying for specialist placements and high cost support.

Councils with DSG deficits will be able to apply for funding to cover 90% of their shortfalls. Those councils will also have to submit a local SEND reform plan, approved by the Department for Education.

Beyond 2028, the government plans to take responsibility for SEND funding.

(You can read a full explanation of how the government will calculate individual local authorities’ grant deficits on the government’s site.)

Wider SEND reforms

This payment scheme is part of wider SEND reforms.

The government will soon be laying out their full plans for SEND reform in the Schools White Paper, which is due out in a few weeks.