Fix SEN funding to avoid ‘absurd’ council deficits in England, IFS says
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Thinktank calls on government to set a long-term vision for radical change. Council deficits in England could spiral to “absurd” levels in excess of £8bn in less than three years without radical reform of special educational needs funding, a leading economics thinktank has said.
Spending on pupils with SEN has gone up nearly 60% over the past decade, with the government announcing a further £1bn in the October budget, but increased investment has failed to meet rising need, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said. The pressure on the system, according to the IFS, is due to the “rocketing” number of children and young people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs). These pupils have the highest needs and councils are legally required to provide and pay for the additional support outlined in the EHCP.
As a result local authorities have built up deficits likely to total £3.3bn this year, with the government forecasting a further £2bn–£3bn increase in annual spending by 2027 in line with rising needs. “Without reform, local authority deficits could easily reach absurd levels of over £8bn in 2027,” the IFS said.
In its new report, “Spending on special educational needs in England: something has to change”, the IFS says the SEN funding system is broken, and calls on the government to set a “clear, long-term vision” for “urgent, radical change”. Among the possible solutions, it suggests “maybe reducing the statutory obligations currently attached to EHCPs”.
