Fears for new school places without Send funding

Surrey County Council wants to set up three new free schools

A Conservative MP has claimed the expansion of new school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in Surrey is being put in doubt, because ministers have paused funding.

Surrey County Council (SCC) wants to set up three new free schools to deal with rising demand, as part of a government programme to support authorities with a shortfall in their high needs budgets.

But Greg Stafford, the MP for Farnham and Bordon, said uncertainty over the finances was "leaving families in limbo".

The Department for Education (DfE) said it was "making progress to deliver change across the Send system", and that Surrey council had been allocated £16.1m funding for 2025-26 to provide school places for children with Send.

Greg Stafford is the MP for Farnham and Bordon

Under the previous Conservative government, many councils which had a gap between funding and what they were actually spending on high needs entered into bailout agreements.

In these "safety valve" deals, they received extra funding in return for an agreement to cut Send deficits.

Stafford said, without the funding, an estimated 500 school places in Surrey would not be created and it was expected that more children would have to go to private and independent education settings, adding costs to SCC's budget of at least £26.5m a year.

"Labour ministers have chosen to kick away the very foundations of their Send agreement with Surrey," he said.

"These schools were promised, agreed, and essential to balancing the high needs budget.

"By putting funding on hold, the government is leaving families in limbo and the councils unable to deliver."

Jonathan Hulley, cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning at SCC, said: "While Surrey County Council's investment in building new specialist school places is significant - exceeding £200m – we are reliant on Government for funding to build more specialist schools in Surrey, including the three new Free Schools to deliver a further 500 school places, which are an essential part of our overall sufficiency plans.

"We are waiting for an update from the Department for Education on the funding and delivery for these schools, which we anticipate will be following the publication of the Schools White Paper in the autumn."

The DfE spokesperson said: "We're already making progress to deliver change across the Send system, from earlier intervention across ADHD, autism and speech and language needs, to £740m investment to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.

"We are engaging with local authorities and trusts in the usual way and progressing work on special and AP [alternative provision] free schools, in line with our vision for the Send system and our Plan for Change."