Council overspends on support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) have risen by 30% in a year, according to figures obtained by the Observer under the Freedom of Information Act. Data from 118 of England's 151 local authorities show that councils expect to overspend their high needs block budgets by £288m in 2019-20, up from £232m in 2018-19. When money taken from mainstream school budgets is included, the overspend rises to £410m this year, compared with £315m last year.
The high needs block is government funding for children with higher-cost needs, while those with moderate needs are supported via mainstream school budgets. The overspends come despite the government injecting £250m of emergency funding into special needs education last December. Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said: 'The government has slashed funding for schools and now we are seeing the consequences. Ministers need to abandon any plans for tax cuts for the rich and invest in our pupils and schools instead.'
The situation may worsen. Last November, 117 councils forecast a collective overspend of £200m for 2018-19. Surrey council, which had expected to balance its budget, overspent by nearly £15m, the highest in the country. This year, its forecast overspend is £31m, though a council spokesperson said there would be no overspend after the council puts in £29m to balance the books. Gillian Doherty, founder of Send Action, said: 'Despite the increase in overspends, we continue to see cuts to specialist support. This is contributing to a growing attainment gap between disabled and non-disabled pupils.'
Most councils have plans to reduce deficits, often by increasing local provision to cut costly out-of-area placements, but this will take time. Some councils are considering direct cuts. Cambridgeshire council will consult on savings proposals this autumn, including cuts to special needs top-up funding for mainstream schools and high needs units, and reductions in after-school clubs. A council spokesperson said: 'Despite a new formula, the high needs block funding is not reflective of the current level of need or costs for children in Cambridgeshire with special needs.'
Anntoinette Bramble of the Local Government Association said: 'Councils have seen rapid rises in demand following changes in 2014 which extended eligibility to the 16-to-25 age group. Councils are facing a high needs shortfall of up to £1.2bn next year, which we are calling on the government to address in the upcoming spending round.'
