Prøve GULL - Gratis
Councils: 'Broken' special needs system will trigger debt crisis
The Guardian
|July 25, 2024
A £5bn debt crisis caused by out of-control overspending on special educational needs could explode in less than two years, bankrupting scores of England's local authorities, the government has been warned.
The crisis stems from the failure to properly fund a huge increase in demand for special education needs and disability (Send) services over the past decade, triggering an "existential" crisis for councils which have "no obvious means of paying off the debt".
Council leaders have told ministers the Send system, which was introduced by the coalition government 10 years ago, is in meltdown, and have described it as broken, unaffordable, and failing hundreds of thousands of children.
The overspend is the legacy of the last Tory government's decision to allow Send overspending to continue for years under a special "override" arrangement that allowed councils to keep these rapidly mounting debts off municipal balance sheets.
Denne historien er fra July 25, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av kuraterte premiumhistorier og over 9000 magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FLERE HISTORIER FRA The Guardian
The Guardian
Check it out How chess has made a move into clubland
One of the liveliest spots on a Tuesday night in Brick Lane, east London, isn't a restaurant or a streetwear pop-up, it's a chess club - or chess club/ nightclub hybrid, to be exact.
3 mins
November 04, 2025
The Guardian
Image of rare white Iberian lynx captured by amateur photographer
An amateur photographer in southern Spain has captured images of a white Iberian lynx, prompting researchers to investigate whether environmental factors could be at play as wildlife watchers revelled in the rare sighting.
1 mins
November 04, 2025
The Guardian
'I love Leeds, but the club couldn't afford for me to stay'
Mark Viduka, 25 years on from four goals against Liverpool, on a journey taking in civil war and owning a coffee shop
5 mins
November 04, 2025
The Guardian
Apec summit Xi shows his lighter side with phone gag
It would take someone with nerves of steel to joke about the security of Chinese smartphones in front of Xi Jinping.
2 mins
November 04, 2025
The Guardian
'We need a bit of help' Frank urges Spurs fans to hold boos and carry team forwards
Thomas Frank has called for better support from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium crowd after revealing that Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence had apologised to him for their reaction to the 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea on Saturday.
3 mins
November 04, 2025
The Guardian
Reeves paves way for tax-raising budget with 'tough choices' talk
Chancellor to give candid speech amid pressure to break manifesto pledge
3 mins
November 04, 2025
The Guardian
Farage backtracks on promise to cut £9obn of taxes as spotlight falls on Reform's credibility
Nigel Farage yesterday retreated from his party's election manifesto promise to cut £90bn of taxes, accusing Labour and the Tories of \"wrecking the public finances\" and saying Reform UK would need to get public spending under control first.
3 mins
November 04, 2025
The Guardian
AstraZeneca's Wall Street move drives a coach and horses through stamp duty regime
It was one of those votes where the majority was always going to be huge.
2 mins
November 04, 2025
The Guardian
Power play Fixation on forward rotation risks rugby clashes turning into damp squibs
There was a time in rugby union when the phrase \"Bomb Squad\" felt novel.
3 mins
November 04, 2025
The Guardian
Attenborough nature series reels in viewers using tricks of TV dramas like Adolescence
David Attenborough's BBC series Kingdom has broken new ground by using the tricks of TV dramas such as Adolescence to immerse viewers in the action with cliffhangers and moving camera shots.
3 mins
November 04, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size