Summary
Nearly 20 UK local councils are grappling with the financial strain of soaring costs tied to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) programs, pushing them alarmingly close to insolvency. The rising demand for tailored education support services, including one-on-one aides, specialized transportation, and individualized learning environments, has driven local education budgets into dangerous territory. The combination of increasing pupil numbers and growing legal responsibilities under the Children and Families Act 2014 means councils are under intense pressure to deliver services they can barely afford.
Local governments are legally obligated to provide adequate SEND provisions under Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which has resulted in significant budget overruns. The cumulative national SEND deficit across councils is projected to surpass £3 billion in 2024. Just three years ago, deficits were a fraction of that, revealing an exponential and unsustainable trend.
As the financial situation worsens, councils like Kent, Devon, and Gloucestershire are either seeking government bailouts or preparing for dramatic cuts to essential services, which could impact school funding, community projects, and even adult social care. This issue has also triggered mounting concern among parents of SEND children, who rely heavily on these programs for their kids’ access to education and social development.
With no long-term fix in place, the government has introduced temporary “safety valve” agreements to ease the burden on a select number of councils. However, critics worry this is merely a stopgap solution that fails to address deeper structural funding challenges.
Without structural reform and sustainable funding, local authorities will continue to spiral toward insolvency—and it’s families who will pay the price.
Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of the NAHT
Analysis
The SEND funding crisis reveals not just a budgeting flaw—but a more systemic misalignment between local authority responsibilities and central government support. The local governments’ obligation to meet specific needs defined in EHCPs has grown sharply, while actual financial backing has not kept pace.
In practice, this means that local authorities must divert funds from other public services or rack up staggering deficits. The trend emerged after educational reforms in 2014 seen as empowering for parents and young learners with disabilities. Unfortunately, while the ideals of inclusion and access were adopted, the back-end support system fell short.
Key Factors Fueling the Crisis
- Increased EHCP Approvals: As more families become aware of their rights, councils have seen a 50% rise in EHCP requests since 2016.
- Specialist School Placement: Lack of mainstream support has led to a surge in placements in costlier special schools, sometimes as high as £100,000 per pupil per year.
- Legal Challenges: Councils often lose SEND tribunal cases, forcing them to provide services they hadn’t budgeted for.
Experts argue that the SEND crisis could be the canary in the coal mine for wider financial distress in local authority governance. According to the Local Government Association (LGA), over half of councils now report deficits exceeding their annual education budgets.
This creates a domino effect. Cash-strapped councils may divert funding from libraries, roads, or adult care to cover SEND obligations, risking further community dissatisfaction and service collapses. More concerningly, families with SEND dependents may face longer waits or reduced support, endangering children’s educational trajectories and family well-being.
A longer-term policy solution is desperately needed. Industry insiders recommend a combination of revised statutory duties, targeted funding boosts from Westminster, and better early-intervention frameworks to reduce cost-heavy escalations in care needs.
We need a SEND system that’s not only fair but also financially viable for councils trying to do the right thing.
Sarah Woolnough, CEO of The King’s Fund
The pressure is mounting—not just in Excel spreadsheets, but in real-life classrooms. If these funding gaps aren’t closed soon, the UK may see a generation of vulnerable children without the education and care they’re entitled to by law.
