Councillors will consider a review and proposals for consultation on changes to services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those who need alternative arrangements for education.
Durham County Council’s Cabinet will be asked to agree to a three-month consultation on a range of options from 17 July to 17 October 2019.
The review and consultation will explore how the council can ease the significant financial pressures it is facing around its provision for SEND and alternative arrangements for education. Currently funding comes from government through what is called the High Needs Block (HNB) of the Dedicated Schools Grant and the council is spending around 15 per cent more on these services than it receives.
Cllr Olwyn Gunn, Cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “We, like many other local authorities, find ourselves in this situation through a combination of factors, including an extended period of ongoing austerity, government funding not keeping pace with demographic and inflationary demands, the fact that government reforms have extended the age range of young people we are required to support up to the age of 25 and the changing and increased complexity of needs of our children and young people.
“We tried last year to access additional funding from our Schools Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), but this required support from the Durham Schools Forum and special permission from the Secretary of State. This was not supported for 2019/20 as our schools were concerned over the impact this would have on them but as things stand we will have little choice but to discuss this option again going forwards.
“The current funding situation is simply unsustainable, and action needs to be taken to ensure we can address this pressure without significantly impacting on the support we provide for our children and young people with SEND and their families. We will continue to press Government for a fair and reasonable funding settlement to alleviate these pressures and the consultation process will allow us to consider options to reduce spending and make efficiencies to reduce the funding gap.”
The council will undertake a review of spending on a broad range of services currently paid for through the high needs block, including the following areas: funding and places in special schools; transport for pupils attending the pupil referral unit; the commissioning of support services such as integrated therapies, equipment and adaptations; the model for top up and targeted funding for young people with SEND; financial support provided through local partnerships of schools and funding for the pupil referral unit and alternative provision.
If the review and consultation process is agreed, a further report will be brought back to Durham County Council’s Cabinet in the autumn, outlining the updated financial forecast position, a summary of consultation findings, recommendations and a strategy regarding funding for this range of services in 2020/21.
Cllr Gunn added: “Currently we are covering £5.6 million of expected HNB overspend in 2019/20 from our Budget Support Reserve, but this is not a sustainable long-term solution and is a one-off measure to allow us time to develop a more sustainable, longer-term position.
“We hope that this review and consultation will help us to do that, ensuring we can provide the right support at the right time, in the right place for our children, young people and young adults with SEND within the resources available to us.”
Subject to cabinet approval, further details about the consultation will be made publicly available and service users, their families, schools, partners and other interested parties are encouraged to share their views.
