The financial threat hanging over English councils, as a result of the last government’s decision to mask special needs overspending with an accounting ruse, is made plain in a Guardian investigation that used freedom of information requests to dig into their accounts. How ministers plan to deal with the £5.2bn debt that will reappear on balance sheets in a year – having been temporarily hidden by the Conservatives – is unknown. But doing nothing is not an option.
Clearly, trying to find out the cause of this increased spending is also not an option. Since no-one appears to be asking the question.
The alarming mismatch between the steeply rising need for special education and the budgets allocated to pay for it is one of the biggest challenges facing the government – with at least 18 councils at risk of insolvency.
They've known the bill will come due for seven years. Maybe if they'd cut back on DEI nonsense and activist pandering, they'd have a few more pennies in the kitty to pay for it?
There is no short answer to the question of what went wrong.
As this is the 'Guardian', I'm sure the blame can be laid at the feet of the previous government, can't it?
But reforms brought in under David Cameron are responsible for pitting families against councils in the struggle for additional support – while central government sits on the sidelines.
Thought so!
Between 2015-16 and 2024-25, high‑needs funding in England rose by 59% or £4bn to nearly £11bn.
Why? For the love of god, doesn't anyone ask WHY?!
4 comments:
If extra funding is offered to schools for the additional costs related to SEND children there is an incentive to create more such children.
Another question to be asked is, Does all the money spent produce discernible results?
Indeed!
And how are those results quantified?
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