Government ‘sticking plaster’ will allow Staffordshire County Council to continue running multi-million pound budget deficit for further two years
A government ‘sticking plaster’ will allow Staffordshire County Council to continue running a multi-million pound budget deficit for a further two years.
The county council overspent its special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) budget by £27 million last year, due to demand far outstripping the available funding.
Local authorities are allowed to keep SEND deficits separate from their main budgets through a so-called statutory override – which was due to expire next March, raising concerns that councils would be plunged into bankruptcy. But the government has now announced that the override will continue until the end of 2027/28, while the SEND funding system is reformed
The county council charges the SEND overspend to its dedicated schools grant reserve, which is now £53.6 million in deficit. Even with the steps the council is taking to mitigate the situation, this cumulative deficit is projected to exceed £150 million by the end of 2027/28.
County council leader Ian Cooper says that while the override extension will give authorities some breathing space, a long-term solution is needed. He said: “Fundamentally, the national SEND system is failing and is in desperate need of urgent reform. Here in Staffordshire, we are making the funding we do have stretch as far as possible, but the increasing demand means this is simply not sustainable.
“Today’’s announcement is yet just another sticking plaster on a national funding crisis. The government needs to step up and deliver the critical funding and long-term reform needed or councils across the country will simply run out of money.”
The extension of the override was announced alongside a raft of proposals aimed at overhauling the way councils are funded. The fairer funding reforms also include plans for multi-year settlements, an updated formula for calculating social care funding and changes to the business rates retention system.
Local government minister Jim McMahon said: “We inherited a local government sector on its knees – councils pushed to the financial brink, facing rising demand, and working people not receiving the quality local services they rightly deserve. These reforms are urgently needed to put councils on a stable footing and ensure better services for residents – especially working people – right across the country.”
