Council fined £1m for education failures

Surrey County Council accepted its spending on fines was "higher than it should be"

A council has spent more than £1m in two years on fines, with the majority for its failures within its education services.

Surrey County Council was forced to pay £480,797 in the 2024/25 financial year, less than the previous year but more than four times its £104,630 of payments in 2020/21.

A total of 93% of recent payouts stemmed from the council's failures in processes for creating Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) for young people with special educational needs, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The authority said its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services had made a "significant improvement against a hugely challenging national picture and an unprecedented increase in demand".

The council paid out £92,698 in 2021/22, £258,730 in 2022/23 and £540,611 in 2023/24.

Fines and redress payments are required for failures including delays to EHCP assessments or symbolic remedies for distress and frustration caused by failures.

Jonathan Hulley, cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning, accepted that the council's spend on fines was "higher than it should be".

But he said the timeliness of EHCPs since January was "well above the national average" at 91% and that the council had "invested heavily in SEND".

"It is our absolute priority to ensure every child with additional needs and disabilities in Surrey receives the support that they need," he said.

The council apologised in October to families it let down over the provision of SEND services.

Some MPs in the county have previously criticised the council's SEND provision.