Figures showing “record breaking” demand for support spark renewed calls for government to write off SEND deficits

Government data released today (26 June) shows that the number of pupils this year in receipt of an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), a legal document outlining special needs support, has now reached more than 638,000 young people. Across England, the number of young people in receipt of an EHCP has more than trebled since 2017.

The data illustrates increasing numbers of families approaching their local authority for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support for young people, with 423 requests on average a day last year and a total of 154,000 requests.

In addition, 268 young people a day were given an EHCP across England in 2024 – a total of 98,000 new plans that were begun.

County and unitary councils in the County Councils Network currently have 282,000 young people on EHCPs within their areas.

CCN observe this is “almost quadruple” the number of people on EHCPs in county areas in 2017.

If a child receives an EHCP, the school is only required pay the first £6,000, with the local authority financing the rest.

With local authorities facing large yearly increases in demand, CCN warns that the system “does not work for anyone”, with families facing long waits for support and councils building up “unmanageable” deficits.

It notes that on current projections, these are set to reach £6bn nationally next March.

Councils have said the government must be “open to all options” when it outlines reform and must create a system which “incentivises and allows mainstream schools to better support SEND pupils”, reducing the number of pupils who go to special schools.

The CCN added: “The government’s reforms package should include designing an inclusive system which would require significant investment and incorporates changes to school buildings, the curriculum and the workforce. Support in schools should also be more clearly defined, and more accessible, reducing the reliance on EHCPs.”

Last week, the Government announced it was to extend the ‘statutory override’ mechanism which keeps councils’ SEND deficits off their budget books for a further two years to March 2028, alongside a commitment to support councils with those debts.

However, councils argue that in order to “wipe the slate clean” and give councils the “best possible chance of delivering reform”, the government should write off SEND deficits, alongside compensating the local authorities that went through the Safety Valve programme.

Cllr Tim Oliver, Chair of the County Councils Network, said: “Today’s new SEND figures once again demonstrate a system in desperate need of reform. It does not work for anyone: families are facing increasing waits for support, schools do not have the capacity and resources whilst councils are building up unmanageable deficits, having spent colossal sums on support over the last decade.

“Despite this record expenditure – which importantly is being artificially kept off local authority balance sheets – we recognise that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the system. Councils are facing a deluge of requests for support, so whilst the commitment to reform is important, government can ill-afford to get it wrong.

“This is why ministers must ensure that reform is comprehensive. It will require significant investment, but reform should enable greater inclusion within mainstream schools, with support more clearly defined. What we are advocating for is not a reduction in entitlement, but instead a system where all children’s needs are supported as close to their home as possible, and those with specific needs supported via specialist help.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, said: “We inherited a SEND system on its knees, and at the heart of these figures are families fighting for support that should just be readily available.

“Too many children are not having their needs identified at an early enough stage, creating a vicious cycle of overwhelmed local services and children’s support needs escalating to crisis point.

“Through our Plan for Change, we’re improving things right now, and will break this vicious cycle with wide-ranging reform. We’ve already invested £740 million to create more places for children with SEND in mainstream schools, we’re increasing early access to speech, language and neurodiversity support, and we’ll set out our full plans to improve experiences for every child and family in the autumn.”

Lottie Winson