(UK) Salisbury: $83M in SPED debt; projected to rise to $130M at end of next fiscal year

July 6, 2025, Salisbury Journal: Former secretary admits SEND system under-funded as Wiltshire deficit hits £61m [$83M]

FORMER Education Secretary Michael Gove has admitted that funding for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) has failed to keep pace with demand, as Wiltshire Council faces a growing £61 million [$83M] SEND deficit.

Speaking to the Journal at the Chalke History Festival, Mr Gove acknowledged the "huge budget pressures" facing councils like Wiltshire, particularly in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND.

“The changes that were brought in when I was secretary of state and Edward Timpson was the minister responsible helped us to better identify children that were in need,” Mr Gove said, referring to the 2014 Children and Families Act, which he introduced during his time in government.

“But one of the problems that we’ve had is making sure that there is appropriate funding to meet all of the identified needs,” he said.

The comments come after Wiltshire Council revealed its SEND year-end deficit stood at £61m for 2024/25, a figure projected to rise to £96m [$130M] by the end of the next financial year.

The council has joined calls for urgent action to address what it describes as a "disparity" in education funding between Wiltshire and other parts of the country. . . .

According to the council, Wiltshire ranks 18th lowest out of 151 local authorities for mainstream school funding and 20th lowest for high needs SEND funding in 2025/26. For high needs funding alone, Wiltshire receives more than two-thirds (69.4 per cent) less than Camden, the highest-funded authority.

Wiltshire is currently part of the Department for Education's Safety Valve Programme, which offers support to councils struggling with soaring SEND costs through the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG).

However, the council has warned that increasing demand for support means it is struggling to meet the conditions of its SEND Sustainability Plan, a requirement of its Safety Valve Agreement signed with the government in March this year.

Critics have pointed to the 2014 reforms, which expanded access to SEND support and introduced legally binding Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), as having exposed funding shortfalls within the system.

While Mr Gove defended the principle of identifying and supporting more children in need, he admitted that the challenge now lies in ensuring councils have the resources to deliver that support effectively.