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£5bn council SEND debts to be paid off by government
The £5bn grant will cover 90% of SEND deficits built by English councils, addressing risks of insolvency amid rising demand for special educational needs support.
- From this autumn, the UK government will spend £5bn to pay off 90% of English councils' SEND deficits built up to the end of the financial year, applying to the high needs block of the dedicated schools grant.
- Councils in England faced rising demand in recent years and support a record 1.7 million pupils in England with SEND, while education, health and care plans have more than doubled, creating statutory budget pressure.
- The government says it will use the Schools White Paper to explain how it plans to handle deficits from April 2026 to 2028, when the statutory override expires.
- Facing insolvency warnings, the LGA said the grant removes the immediate threat of insolvency for many councils, while the OBR warned the combined costs could reach £14bn.
- The Department for Education said its Schools White Paper will set out full SEND reform plans in the coming weeks and points to a prior £3bn pledge to create 50,000 specialist school places.
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Sector hails ‘big, decisive answer’ to SEND deficit crisis
Ministers confirmed in yesterday’s final settlement that 90% of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits built up to the end of 2025/26 would be covered The post Sector hails ‘big, decisive answer’ to SEND deficit crisis appeared first on Room151.
£5bn pledged to avert councils’ SEND ‘financial cliff edge’
The government announced plans to clear 90% of SEND debts built up by councils in recent years, a move that has been hailed by many. In the past 12 hours, ministers confirmed they will spend £5bn to cover the majority of the debts English councils have accrued while supporting children…
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