(England) Councils face 'total collapse' due to 'unimaginable' $24B SPED debt
- The end of childhood
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Nov 14, 2025, Daily Mail: At least 59 councils 'face total collapse' from SEND costs: Town halls staggering under 'unimaginable' £18bn [$24B] debt after explosion in autism and ADHD diagnosis - but outcomes are NOT improving
Dozens of councils face 'total collapse' under the burden of spiralling SEND education costs, a shocking report warned today.
At least 59 councils could go bankrupt overnight when deficits of around £18billion [$24B] are formally added to their books.
The County Councils Network pointed to the huge rise in liabilities following an 80 per cent spike in the number of education, health and care plans issued since 2019. ECHPs set out an entitlement to support for children with conditions such as autism and ADHD.
However, the expansion has not resulted in significant improvements in the outcomes for children.
The report insisted the Government 'cannot keep ducking reform' after Bridget Phillipson delayed the Schools White Paper until the New Year.
The County Councils Network pointed to the huge rise in costs following an 80 per cent spike in the number of education, health and care plans issued since 2019At least 59 councils could go bankrupt overnight when deficits of around £18billion are formally added to their books, according to CCN.
The report said the expansion has not resulted in significant improvements in the outcomes for children
The report insisted the Government 'cannot keep ducking reform' after Bridget Phillipson delayed the Schools White Paper until the New Year
The issue is politically sensitive with many Labour MPs adamant that the EHCPs system and funding must be maintained.
Council Send debts are projected to hit a cumulative deficit of £17.8billion by 2029, according to research conducted with Isos Partnership.
That would equate to debt of nearly £1,000 [$1,300] for every child and young person in England, or more than what councils spent on children's social care last year, CCN said.
Councils have been able to keep high needs deficits off their balance sheets using an accounting arrangement called a statutory override.
The mechanism 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 when the statutory override ends in 2028.
CCN insisted ministers must wipe out the Send deficits at the same time as pushing through reforms.
The research shows 'the system is heading towards total collapse in little over four years,' Councillor Matthew Hicks, chairman of the CCN, said. . . .
'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.'
Councils have been facing spiralling high needs spending over the last decade.
The number of EHCPs hit 638,745 as of January this year.
Local authorities have increasingly been having to rely on private special school provision to meet needs of young people with Send, because of a lack of effective provision in mainstream schools.
Councils are on course to be spending £3.2billion [$4.2B] a year on private school placements for young people with EHCPs by 2029, CCN found.
Because of pressures on high needs spending, councils are increasingly saying they have had to take money from budgets for mainstream schools.
Growing numbers of children with EHCPs are working below the expected level of reading
There should be legislative change to focus EHCPs on those most in need, the report said
Last year, £150million [$198M] was rerouted, largely from mainstream schools, to high needs budgets, the report found.
CCN recommended investment in educational psychologists and preventative support to help build capacity in mainstream schools to support children with Send.
There should be legislative change to focus EHCPs on those most in need, the report said.
The Government had been expected to set out its reforms to the system this autumn as part of the Schools White Paper.
However, Ms Phillipson announced a delay 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 already making progress – with better training for teachers, £740 million [$975M] for more specialist places, earlier intervention for speech and language needs, and Send leads in every Best Start Family Hub.'
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