Local authorities and councils in England have warned mums and dads over a multi-billion pound deficit from years of overspending on special educational needs.
Local authorities and councils in England have warned mums and dads over a multi-billion pound deficit from years of overspending on special educational needs.
A warning has been issued for millions of UK households who have SEND children. Local authorities and councils in England have warned mums and dads over a multi-billion pound deficit from years of overspending on special educational needs.
The SEND deficit has become a “burning platform” that will push scores of councils into bankruptcy within months, they warn. There is a growing discrepancy between the amount councils and local authorities need, and what they are being given by the Labour Party government.
And the number of parents bringing cases to tribunal after councils refused SEND support for their children continues to skyrocket. Worryingly, the Spending Review did not address SEND debts.
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Tim Oliver, chair of the County Councils Network, said: “The mounting Send service deficits are the burning platform for many local authorities yet there was no resolution in the spending review.
“We are now nine months away from a financial cliff edge when these multi-billion deficits are placed on to councils’ budget books, potentially rendering half of England’s county and unitary councils insolvent overnight.”
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) said: “The government continues to leave local authorities in the dark about the future of the Send system and their financial sustainability.
“By the time ministers provide clarity on the statutory override councils will already be well into their budget-setting processes.”
“Unless the government tells us very soon [how it will deal with historic send deficits] we are going to have to issue a section 114 notice (a formal declaration of effective bankruptcy),” said Mike Cox, BCP cabinet member for finance.
Penny Carpenter, cabinet member for children’s services at Norfolk county council, said: “The lack of clarity and assurance from on future funding is deeply frustrating.
“The current financial pressures are unsustainable and severely hinder our ability to plan effectively.”