It’s already hard for people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to access support, but councils have warned ending temporary accounting measures will exacerbate the problem.
Today, Wednesday 19th February, the Local Government Association (LGA) have published new research highlighting over half of councils that support SEND children are worried about becoming insolvent when ‘statutory override’ expires in March 2026.
‘Statutory override’ means councils are currently able to keep high needs deficits, where the cost of providing support outstrips the SEND budgets available to local authorities, off their main revenue accounts.
According to the survey findings, 53% of councils responsible for SEND provisions say they won’t be able to set a balanced budget in 2026/27 – rising to 63% in 2027/28 and 65% in 2028/29.
To give context about how poor the situation is, the number of children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – which outline the support a person is entitled to – has increased by 140% since reforms in the Children and Families Act 2014, meaning costs for councils have soared.
Arguably, the £1billion previously announced for SEND funding in the Autumn Budget was positive, but it is likely the money will be consumed by partially plugging existing deficits.
Against this backdrop, councils are calling on the government to write off high needs deficits, which are estimated to rise to £5billion next year. This is despite councils being expected to be spending £12billion to support children with SEND.
To give context on the dire financial state of councils in England, separate figures from the LGA, which were published towards the end of last year, outline one in four local authorities require emergency government support.
Commenting on the news, Cllr Arooj Shah, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: ‘The ending of the statutory override threatens councils’ financial viability.
‘Only by taking bold and brave action in the Spending Review and writing off councils’ high needs deficits can councils have the financial stability they need to ensure children with SEND get the support they need.’
‘But funding is only one of the challenges facing the SEND system,’ Cllr Shah continued. ‘Putting councils on a stable financial footing has to be part of a comprehensive reform plan, which focusses on boosting inclusion in mainstream schools, early years settings and colleges, ensuring they have the capacity and expertise to meet the needs of children with SEND.’
The Spending Review is expected to set three-year day-to-day government department budgets between 2026/27 and 2028-29 and the final details are due to be announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves on 11th June.
Until then, councils can do nothing but hope.
Photo by Sandy Millar
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