A plan setting out how services will be delivered for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in County Durham, has won government approval.
The Local Area SEND Reform Plan for County Durham has been approved by the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care.
The approval means Durham County Council will receive more than £32m from government towards the deficit it has accrued from the cost of supporting young people with high needs. ‘High needs’ budget deficits are common across local authorities in the region and nationally having been accrued because the funding provided by government falls short of the unavoidable costs of meeting statutory requirements placed upon councils.
The plan was produced by the council, which works alongside partners to deliver services for children and young people with SEND locally. Local authorities across the country were required to produce the plans as part of the government’s delivery of SEND reform nationally.
The government’s assessment of the plan praised County Durham’s “succinct and high-level” vision, described the plan as “holistic” and “ambitious but realistic”, and highlighted strong partnership working, governance arrangements and co-production.
Cllr Cathy Hunt, the council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services said: “This is an important milestone for County Durham and reflects the collective ambition of our partners to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
“The approval provides confidence that we have a strong and credible plan for reform, with a clear focus on inclusion, early intervention and ensuring children and young people receive the right support at the right time.
“It is also a significant endorsement of County Durham’s vision for children and young people with SEND.
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“The feedback recognises the strength of our partnership working and co-production with children and families, schools and other settings and the wider workforce. Our ambition is to create a more inclusive, fair and sustainable system and we are committed to working with our partners to deliver the improvements that children, young people and families rightly expect.”
The partners will now move into the delivery phase of the programme, implementing the commitments set out in the plan and striving to deliver improvements across education, health and care services for children and young people with SEND.
The council will receive £32.472m in High Needs Stability Grant following the plan’s approval. This amounts to 90 per cent of the deficit the council had accrued in supporting children with high needs by the end of the 2025/2026 financial year – a situation mirrored among local authorities nationally.
Cllr Hunt added: “While we welcome the fact the government is covering 90 per cent of the deficit we have accrued while being underfunded, we naturally remain disappointed the full cost is not being met.
“What’s more we are not being recompensed for having to manage this deficit over the last few years, which will have cost local taxpayers around £3m to 4m in lost interest.
“We are also left with a ten per cent bill to meet locally that will cost our taxpayers around £11m by the time we get to 31 March 2028.”
