Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding will no longer be the responsibility of local authorities, and will instead be taken on by the government from 2028. This was revealed in last week’s Budget, although there were minimal details as to how this would be funded.
According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the projected additional costs for government would total £6 billion each year. If these extra costs were to be fully funded through the Department for Education’s (DfE) core schools budget, this would ‘imply a 4.9 per cent real fall in mainstream schools spending per pupil’ from 2028/29, the OBR says. This would be instead of a planned 0.5 per cent real terms increase before the SEND funding commitment was made.
However, the OBR’s estimates do not take account of the effect of any future reform to the SEND funding system. The government is expected to bring forward proposed changes in a white paper early next year. A DfE spokesperson said it was ‘incorrect’ for the OBR to say the costs may be absorbed by the core schools budget: ‘We are clear that any deficit will be absorbed within the overall government budget. These projections also do not account for the much-needed SEND reforms this government will bring forward.’ they said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves was asked if the reforms would lead to cuts to schools or SEND spending after 2028. She said the plans were ‘not about money’ but ‘about creating a system that works for kids, their parents and for schools’.
Other measures announced in the budget included £5 million of new funding for state secondary schools to buy new books, equating to £1400 per school, and £10 million to create libraries in the 1700 primary schools that currently do not have one. Both announcements are linked to the government’s intention to make 2026 the ‘Year of Reading’.