Council given financial warning over SEND cash

Worcestershire County Council is based at Wildwood in Worcester

A council has been given a rare financial notice over spending for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with auditors calling the situation "out of control".

Worcestershire County Council has been handed a section 24 notice over its Dedicated Schools Grant, a pot of money from central government for education.

Auditors Grant Thornton are "very concerned" about long-running deficits, with the authority being criticised for a "lack of council-initiated action over a number of years".

The council says it is taking the notice "extremely seriously" and has called for urgent government reform over special educational needs funding.

The spending deficit for SEND pupils was £44 million in 2023/24, but surged 87 per cent to £98 million in 2024/25, and is projected to hit £184 million by the end of this financial year.

The auditors compared Worcestershire to similar rural areas and say the county is an "outlier" for having such a large deficit rise.

Former education chief David Chambers has called the situation "severe"

At the moment the overspend is being covered by the government, which is preventing the council becoming insolvent, but Grant Thornton said the authority had failed to take steps to address the situation which is "not sustainable".

Its report says: "The lack of council-initiated action over a number of years has compounded the national pressures - and resulted in spending within one of the council's fundamental areas of statutory responsibility being out of control."

The auditors said, despite warnings to save cash, the authority identified just £3 million of savings last year and "no other arrangements were in place, which is not what we would expect to see".

It added: "We are very concerned about the continuing lack of a robust management plan to address the deficit."

Action plan launched

The section 24 notice covers a period where the Conservatives controlled the council, prior to Reform taking over.

David Chambers, a former Tory cabinet member for education, said successive governments were to blame.

"Councils have a legal responsibility to help children with special educational needs, but the costs have risen to such an extent, I'm not surprised [by the section 24 notice]," he said.

"The situation is severe. The funding from central government has simply not been enough."

A special in-house management group has since been set up, and meets fortnightly to focus on reducing spending.

A spokesman for the council said the deficit "does pose a significant threat to the council's financial sustainability".

He said: "Auditors have issued a statutory recommendation on the management of our [schools grant] deficit, which shows the severity of our current position.

"The recent announcement from government on the delay setting out reforms to SEND services until 'early' 2026 is massively disappointing.

"We need comprehensive changes that will make the system sustainable and address the dramatic rise in costs we have seen over the last decade.

"The council take the recommendation from the auditors very seriously and are working to ensure this is addressed, however, without government reform, this is not in the council's full control."

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the government "inherited a SEND system on its knees", adding: "We are determined to deliver reform that stands the test of time and rebuilds the confidence of families."

A Schools White Paper is due to be published next year.