MID-Dorset and Poole MP, Vikki Slade, has urged for governmental action to address the SEND funding crisis.

Speaking in the House of Commons on September 12, Mrs Slade expressed that the SEND crisis needs to be solved urgently and that local authorities have been forced to wait for clarity.

Mrs Slade asked the leader of the house, Lucy Powell, to put the matter on the agenda before well-run councils, such as BCP, become insolvent. 

She said: "Local authorities are still waiting for clarity on an extension to the statutory override that allows them to fund the shortfall from core council budgets, including their reserves.

"The BCP deficit, where many of my constituents’ children go to school, has reached £64 million, with reserves at just £65 million. "

BCP Council is currently facing pressures in its designated schools grant budget and has struggled with the rising costs of services for children with special education needs and disabilities.

Costs for SEND provisions are estimated to rise to £12 billion by 2026, compared to the £4 billion a decade ago.

Mrs Slade said: “Councils are not permitted to borrow to fund this."

"Without urgent action, they will be unable to set a legally balanced budget in February.”

As reported by the Daily Echo, BCP council announced in January 2024 that it would close a £28.9 million gap in education for the 2024/25 budget.

This budget cut meant that assessments done on children and young people to assess their eligibility for extra support were reduced.

This has risked that hundreds of children who would have previously been sent to a specialist school would be put into a mainstream education.

Despite this leading to an increase in children in mainstream schools, no extra funding was awarded.

In September 2023 the council's SEND service was named as the fifth lowest-performing in the country following a report by the council itself.

Given 20 weeks to assist children and special educational needs, from November 2022 to September 2023, all of the plans issued by the council did not meet the deadline.

The council reported on July 30 that it had cleared the backlog of assessments but accepted that more work is needed to be done to improve the quality of the plans.