Devon gets promise of £95m bailout for special needs education deficit

Devon has been given a £95million government bailout to tackle its spiralling special educational needs financial block hole.

The county council has had its application to the Safety Valve scheme accepted, which provides money to areas where spending on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) exceeds its budget.

Within the next week, Devon is expected to have a SEND deficit of £163m and the £95m will go a long way towards reducing that

Devon County Council (DCC) has also set aside £10m this year to help bring down the deficit and the new agreement will see the government contribute £38m by the end of March, with the remaining cash being spread out over the next eight years.

The council says it will contribute a further £5m a year from its revenue budget and £20m from reserves to bring the deficit back into balance by the end of the agreement.

County council leader John Hart praised the hard work of officers and councillors to achieve the agreement after ‘many months of tense negotiations’.

He said: “I am delighted with this extra support from the Government which has recognised the financial problems top tier councils like Devon have been experiencing across the country because of the hugely increased demand for special needs education and the growing complexity of the problems that these vulnerable children experience.”

But the Liberal Democrat opposition on the council has been highly critical of the Conservative administration, which it says has racked up the overspend while the ‘failing’ SEND service itself doesn’t meet the needs of local young people, is rated as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted and inspectors had found ‘significant areas of weakness’.

North Devon councillor and Liberal Democrat leader Caroline Leaver said without the Safety Valve agreement, the council had threatened to slide into bankruptcy.

She said: “You’d hope that spending such massive amounts of money would mean a fantastic service that meets the needs of children, young people and parents. Sadly, that is not the case.

“What is clear is that the problem of the massive overspend racked up by county council has kicked into the long grass, with eight years to make up the shortfall. It’s a problem that will need to be picked up by the new council after local elections next year – and in the meantime the overspend just keeps growing.”

Ms Leaver said efforts to feed the deficit meant this year other services had to find £10m in savings, meaning a ‘real terms cut’ to other council services such as road maintenance.

She added: “You’d hope that spending such massive amounts of money would mean a fantastic service that meets the needs of children, young people and parents. Sadly, that is not the case.”

The council said the plan it had agreed with the government included improving early intervention – essentially spotting children who might need greater educational support earlier – and supporting young people from age 14 to 25 to access appropriate education and training so they can transition into employment, independent living and their next steps into adult life.

Devon will have to hit other milestones and abide by other conditions throughout the life of the deal to ensure it gets the full funding.

Cabinet member for SEND, Lois Samuel, said: “This is a significant achievement and opportunity for the council. It not only provides the framework for service improvement but also puts the authority back onto a sustainable financial footing.

“It ensures services are delivered within the annual ring-fenced grant for high needs and reduces the cumulative SEND deficit to zero by the end of the term.”

“We now need to work increasingly closely with our partners in schools and the NHS. Working together as a team internally and with our partners is so integral to this agreement.”