“While it is positive government has committed to absorbing the costs of SEND spending from 2028/29 – and we look forward to clarity on how this will be funded – this does not address existing deficits, which are pushing many councils to the financial brink."
Responding to the Government saying it will fund the full cost of SEND provision from within central government departmental spending from 2028/29, Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children, Young People and Families Committee, said:
“While it is positive government has committed to absorbing the costs of SEND spending from 2028/29 – and we look forward to clarity on how this will be funded – this does not address existing deficits, which are pushing many councils to the financial brink.
“In the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, we urge the Government to write off these deficits - both the current accumulated deficits and any future deficits expected up to and including 2028/29 - and to fully fund all associated costs such as home to school transport over this period, ahead of setting out wider, comprehensive reform of the SEND system in the Schools White Paper.”
Notes to editors
The Office for Budget Responsibility has said: “The Government has not stated how these liabilities will be dealt with at the end of the newly extended override period, and they therefore represent a substantial ongoing fiscal risk.”