Most of councils' special needs debts written off

The government has agreed to write off millions of pounds worth of council debts.

The deficit resulted from spending on children with special educational needs in central Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

The councils in both areas had to have plans to reform special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services approved by the government to qualify for the help.

Hertfordshire County Council's education portfolio holder said it would help it meet "the commitments we have made to families".

The government's decision to spend £5bn clearing 90% of councils' special needs deficits follows warnings from the Local Government Association that some local authorities could go bankrupt if they are forced to absorb the debts.

Local authorities were told they would have to submit acceptable plans for reforming services for SEND children to qualify for the write-off.

Central Bedfordshire Council and Hertfordshire County Council have been told their proposals have been approved and 90% of their debts will be wiped out.

Hertfordshire expects to receive £74.7m, leaving the council responsible for the remaining £8.3m.

Central Bedfordshire will have to find £6m and the rest of its £62m debt will be paid off.

Mark Watkin, Hertfordshire's executive member for education, SEND and inclusion, said: "The approval of our plan confirms that we are on the right track and means the commitments we have made to families through our SEND strategy can now form part of our reform efforts."

But he added that the news does not mean funding will increase in the future.

He said: "Everything appears to show that we are actually going to be funded or underfunded in just the same way as we have up to now.

"So we will overspend again and accumulate another deficit."

Gareth Mackey, the executive member for children and families at Central Bedfordshire Council, said the approval of the authority's reform plans "is a welcome development for our wider SEND approach and, in the coming months, we look forward to publishing and discussing the plan through our governance process".

Leise Cooper, whose children have special educational needs, set up the charity Angels to help families.

"If you look back three years, it felt like every family we saw was having a complete nightmare," she said.

"We see families now who say things like, 'Oh, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be,' which is great. I love that."

Cooper added, however, that there were still "hundreds or thousands" of children whose needs were not being met.

Hertfordshire County Council said it was also getting nearly £10m to expand its team of specialists who support education settings and help mainstream schools accommodate more children with special needs.

The government's decision to write off most of the deficit is good news for councils because it frees up money that would otherwise have been spent servicing debt.

But there is no guarantee future funding will increase enough to prevent new deficits building up, and councils will still face pressure to find innovative ways of reducing the rising cost of SEND provision.

Any changes perceived to be driven more by financial pressures than by improvements in support are unlikely to be welcomed by SEND families.

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