Devon SEND service hit by £88m overspend amid reform uncertainty
Devon’s SEND service is facing an £88.8m overspend this financial year as demand rises and the cost of supporting children with special educational needs continues to increase
A predicted overspend of £88 million in just one year in Devon’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service highlights the urgency of anticipated national reforms, it has been claimed.
Devon’s cabinet heard its SEND service would once again overspend as demand from families continues to rise and costs escalate.
The SEND service helps ensure children with learning difficulties and physical disabilities, among other needs, can access education.
But the average annual cost of an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), which is often required for children to get the support they need, has jumped to more than £19,900 in July, from just over £17,000 in March this year.
A crucial factor in the high costs is related to students being placed in SEND-focused schools, something that has prompted a push locally and nationally to increase the number of SEND children attending mainstream settings.
Earlier this year, the government confirmed it would pay off 90 per cent of SEND deficits at local councils across the country with a roughly £5 billion grant.
But this relates to deficits accumulated up to the end of the previous financial year, which ended in March 2026, meaning the expected overspend this financial year could fall on Devon unless further support from Parliament is forthcoming.
“If the anticipated government support [for this financial year] is not received, a corresponding pressure of up to £79.3 million would fall to the council and would need to be managed through available reserves and other mitigating actions,” a report prepared for Devon County Council’s cabinet stated.
“Therefore, there remains a significant financial risk that no formal government commitment has been made regarding the continuation of the current support arrangements beyond March 2026.
“Should government policy change, or if support is reduced or withdrawn, the council could face substantially higher costs than currently forecast, resulting in additional pressure on its medium-term financial position and reserves.”
Devon said it had submitted its SEND reform plan to the Department for Education (DfE) in order to secure its portion of funding, but had not yet had its approval confirmed.
Once the DfE does give the plan the go-ahead, Devon should receive just over £191 million to help eradicate its total SEND deficit, which is technically just over £218 million up to March 2026, once other payments are taken into account.
The council does have an earmarked SEND reserve of nearly £42 million, but with a possible £27 million residual deficit to deal with, plus another nearly £9 million if the government agrees to pay 90 per cent of overspends for this financial year, it could quickly be eroded.
If no government assistance is forthcoming for this financial year, then the SEND reserve would be entirely subsumed by the predicted £88.8 million overspend for this financial year.
Local councils have been calling for SEND funding reforms for years, with mooted transformations being prevaricated upon by successive governments.
Critics claim the root cause of persistent overspends at numerous councils across the country relates to a 2014 decision by the government to extend SEND support to young people up to the age of 25 without expanding the funding required to support this on the ground.