A growing crisis in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding is threatening to push councils across the North East towards financial collapse. Newcastle, Northumberland, and Durham are among those grappling with multi-million-pound deficits, as demand for support soars and legal deadlines for delivering help are missed.
00:01Local councils across the North East are warning of financial disaster due to growing deficits in special educational needs and disabilities, or SEND support.
00:10A new report from Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has highlighted the severity of the situation, calling for agent reform before a critical funding mechanism expires in March 2026.
00:23Since 2020, councils have been able to exclude SEND overspends from their main balance sheets under a temporary statutory override.
00:31But when that measure ends, more than half of local authorities could be legally classed as insolvent, with national high-need deficits projected to reach £5bn next year.
00:42In the North East, Newcastle City Council has already estimated a £7.8m SEND overspend in its 2024-2025 budget.
00:53Northumberland County Council faces an £8m shortfall, while Durham County Council has warned of a potential £38m CULM of deficit by 2026.
01:02Speaking in a recent council meeting, Newcastle Lib Dem councillor Colin Ferguson called the system financially unsustainable and said the government must act fast.
01:12Labour councillor Adam Walker, a parent of a child with autism, admitted that delays in producing legally required education, health and care plans were shocking, with the city's average wait time at least 35 weeks, nearly double the legal 20-week limit.
01:27The Local Government Association is urging the government to either extend the statutory override or write-off council SEND deficits entirely.
01:36It is also calling for a long-term reform package that supports earlier intervention and boosts inclusion in mainstream education.
