West Sussex council struggles with ‘tidal wave’ of SEND pupils

West Sussex County Council is calling for help from MPs as it struggles to deal with a “tidal wave of demand” for services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

Last year, the council overspent by more than £54m on the “high needs” portion of its Dedicated Schools Grant – money issued by the government to fund education.

Jacquie Russell, cabinet member for children, young people and learning, called on committee members to write to their MPs and invite them to a meeting to hear how difficult things have become.

The Department for Education has been approached for comment.

Ms Russell said: “This authority, like many, many across the nation, is trying very hard to deal with a tidal wave of demand with its hands tied behind its backs.”

The government’s Public Accounts Committee has warned that local authorities will be on a financial cliff edge if nothing is done.

By the end of the 2027-28 academic year, councils across the country will have overspent by as much as £4bn on special educational needs and disabilities budgets, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

In March, the total Dedicated Schools Grant overspend in West Sussex was £123.2m.

Ms Russell called the gap between the amount of money councils need for education and what they receive was “an absolute disgrace”.

She told the meeting that this year’s capital budget from the government for SEND in West Sussex was £12m, calling it “a drop in the ocean”.

The council said there needed to be a review of the funding system and claimed large areas such as West Sussex were getting just 30% of the funding given to small London boroughs.

Mrs Russell called on MPs to attend meetings host by F40 – a group made up of the lowest funded councils in the country – saying she had “lost count of the amount of times I’ve given them root and branch detail of just exactly what the problems are and how we need their help”.