The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system faces “total collapse”, it has been warned, with 59 councils saying they would go bankrupt overnight if high-needs spending deficits were no longer kept off their books.

The County Councils Network (CCN) has warned that the government “cannot keep ducking reform”, and must use the delay to the publication of its Schools White Paper to set out major changes to the SEND system.

Council SEND debts are projected to hit a cumulative deficit of £17.8 billion by 2029, according to CCN research conducted with Isos Partnership.

This would equate to debt of nearly £1,000 for every child and young person in England, or more than the amount councils spent on children’s social care last year, CCN says.

SEND deficits would bankrupt councils

Councils have been able to keep high-needs spending deficits off their balance sheets using an accounting arrangement called a statutory override.

This arrangement had been due to end in 2026, but was extended in the summer until March 2028.

More than half (59) of the councils surveyed by CCN said they will go bankrupt overnight if statutory override ends in 2028.

CCN has renewed its call for the government to wipe the total SEND deficits to give councils a clean slate for system reform.

The research shows that “the system is heading towards total collapse in little over four years”, said councillor Matthew Hicks, chairman of the CCN.

“This could mean families facing even longer waits for support, councils facing a level of demand that the system was never designed for, and local authorities staring down unimaginable deficits of almost £18 billion,” he added.

“Now is the time to be bold and act decisively: government cannot keep ducking reform, and ministers must use the delay to set out comprehensive and long-lasting change to the system.”

High-needs spending pressures

Councils have been facing spiralling high-needs spending over the past decade.

The number of education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which are legal documents setting out support required for young people with SEND, has risen 80 per cent since 2019 to hit 638,745 as of January this year.

Local authorities have increasingly been having to rely on private special school provision to meet the needs of young people with SEND because of a lack of state special school places and effective provision in mainstream schools.

Councils are on course to be spending £3.2 billion a year on private school placements for young people with EHCPs by 2029, CCN says.

Because of the pressures on high-needs funding, councils are increasingly saying they are having to take money from budgets for mainstream schools.

Last year £150 million was diverted, largely from mainstream schools, to high-needs budgets, the report says.

Investment in preventative support

The CCN recommends that the government invests in areas such as educational psychologists and preventative support to help build capacity in mainstream schools to support children with SEND.

And there should be legislative change to focus EHCPs on those most in need, it adds.

The government had been expected to set out its reforms to the SEND system this autumn as part of its Schools White Paper. However, education secretary Bridget Phillipson announced that the White Paper would be delayed until 2026 to allow more time to test reform proposals.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This government inherited a SEND system on its knees, with thousands of families struggling to get the right support.

“We’re determined to put that right by improving mainstream inclusion so every child can thrive at their local school.

“We’ve held over 100 listening sessions with families and will continue engaging parents as we deliver reform through the Schools White Paper.

“We’re already making progress - with better training for teachers, £740 million for more specialist places, earlier intervention for speech and language needs, and SEND leads in every Best Start Family Hub.”

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