Briefings and responses

Consultation response from the LGA.

A consultation on reforms to the SEND system, SEND reform: putting children and young people first, was published alongside the Schools White Paper and sets out a broader set of reforms which build on the proposals set out in chapter 3 of the White Paper. The LGA will be working closely with member councils in the coming weeks to shape our consultation response.

The SEND system is in crisis, with record investment failing to improve stagnant or declining outcomes for children and young people. The persistent academic gap between pupils with identified SEN and their peers underscores that urgent and unavoidable reform is needed. Any effective national pathway to work must therefore be founded on a reformed, integrated, and locally led support system that enables positive futures.

We welcome the Budget announcement that the Government will absorb SEND costs from 2028/29. The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits, however, represent a substantial ongoing fiscal risk to councils in the absence of a plan to address them when the statutory override ends in 2027/28.

The LGA estimates that nationally local government’s cumulative high needs deficit now stands at £3.15 billion, which is now threatening the financial viability of some councils. We are calling for the write-off all Dedicated Schools Grant deficits to relieve the financial pressures that councils are currently facing, which are forecasted to reach £5 billion by 2025/26.

We welcome the publication of this Bill, which includes many issues that the Local Government Association has been calling for many years in relation to education and safeguarding

LGA response to the improving the way Ofsted inspects education consultation.

Response to the Department for Education’s School accountability reform – school profiles, improvement and intervention consultation

The free school meals system is an important component of the support that is provided to low income families and the broader work to tackle health inequalities and rising food insecurity.

Inclusive SEND reform can deliver better outcomes for every child at a fraction of future costs, while safeguarding local authority budgets