(UK) Leics: $11M overspend; 'unprecedented' demand--8,000 SPED plans
- Sep 13, 2025
- 2 min read
Sept 13, 2025, BBC News: Council warns of SEND costs 'mission impossible'
Leicestershire County Council has said it faces a "mission impossible" in paying for a surge in the cost of care for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The council has revealed it expects to overspend its overall budget by £8.1m [$11M] this financial year, largely due to "unprecedented" demand for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for children.
Reform UK council leader Dan Harrison wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Friday to say SEND costs were projected to make up an "eye-watering" 20% of the authority's entire budget by 2028-29.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said the county council's funding had been increased by £34.5m [$47M] this year. . . .
The government said it will set out more detailed plans for reforms to special educational needs in the autumn.
Harrison said the council was funding 8,000 EHCPs - 1,600 more than a year ago and a rise of 25% in total. . . .
'Costs unheard of'
Harrison added: "Funding is not keeping pace with demand, making it a mission impossible and simply piling on increased financial pressure.
"At the heart of this are parents, carers and children who quite rightly expect councils to provide specialist support.
The right support changes lives, and we owe it to them to get the system right now."
Declan Keegan, the council's director of corporate resources, told a cabinet meeting on Friday that some high-end placements for children with SEND were costing more than £30,000 [$41,000] a week.
"While this is still relatively unusual, costs of this level would have been unheard of a few years ago," he added.
Mr Keegan said all the council's departments were operating within their budgets — except for children's social care.
He said the £8.1m overspend could be covered by contingency funding, but the council has warned that the pressure caused by SEND costs is unsustainable in the long-term. . . .
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