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Councils warn of £10bn SEND 'financial catastrophe' building even as Labour's £5bn bailout lands

English councils project a £10.4bn SEND deficit by March 2028, with EHCP applications hitting a record 718,000 — up 13 per cent in a year.
English councils project a £10.4bn SEND deficit by March 2028, with EHCP applications hitting a record 718,000 — up 13 per cent in a year.

Local councils are heading for a fresh £10 billion special educational needs debt crisis within 18 months, despite the government handing over a £5 billion bailout this autumn — because demand for Education, Health and Care Plans is surging faster than the money can plug the gap. The County Councils Network says SEND deficits could hit £4.8 billion by next spring and £10.4 billion by March 2028, with the number of children on care plans already at a record 718,000 — a 13 per cent jump in a single year. Linden Kemkaran, the CCN's SEND spokeswoman, warned that anything less than wiping out 90 per cent of new debt would leave councils facing ruin.

The bailout clears deficits up to March 2026, but councils say new debt is already accumulating at an even faster pace.

Applications for care plans have spiked sharply since February, when the government announced reforms restricting EHCPs to the most complex cases from 2029.

The CCN is demanding a 'cast iron' government commitment to write off deficits for 2026-27 and 2027-28 in full.

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