Local authorities are required to provide schools with sufficient funds of up to £6,000 per pupil, to enable them to meet the additional costs of those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The local authority can also give additional funding from its high needs budget to schools that have a disproportionate number of pupils with SEND, whose additional support costs up to £6,000.<\/p>
When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with special educational needs exceed £6,000, the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the local authority\u2019s high needs budget. This year, high needs budgets total just under £6 billion across England, a £142 million increase since last year. This is explained in the high needs funding operational guide, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2018-to-2019<\/a>.<\/p> However, we recognise that there is pressure on schools to do more, which is why we have taken steps to help them get the best value for every pound. We also recognise that local authorities are experiencing cost pressures on high needs and are keeping the overall level of funding for high needs under review.<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4113", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stratford-on-Avon"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nadhim Zahawi"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-22T14:15:32.693Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Special Educational Needs: Finance"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the SEND budgets of local authorities.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4510", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Helen Hayes"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Dulwich and West Norwood"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Helen Hayes"}
], "uin" : "192823"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1010180", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1010180/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The Department for Education collects information on local authority spending through the section 251 returns, which for 2018 to 2019 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/section-251-2018-to-2019<\/a>.<\/p> The department does not specifically collect information on where local authorities have overspent their high needs budgets. In 2018 to 2019, local authorities are obliged to pass at least 99.5% of their schools\u2019 block funding, within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), on to local schools; and since 2017 to 2018, have been obliged to pass at least 93% (95% in 2018 to 2019) of funding for three and four-year olds to early years providers. Otherwise, local authorities are free to allocate their DSG, and in any one year may build up or draw down DSG reserves.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4113", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stratford-on-Avon"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nadhim Zahawi"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-22T14:17:13.463Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Special Educational Needs: Expenditure"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on how many local authorities have overspent on special education needs and disability budgets in each year since 2014.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4510", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Helen Hayes"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Dulwich and West Norwood"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Helen Hayes"}
], "uin" : "192824"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1010215", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1010215/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The Department for Education does not collect specific information regarding the amounts that local authorities spend on legal activity around education, health and care (EHC) plans.<\/p> Local authorities must adhere to legal requirements when making EHC needs assessments, when producing EHC plans and when meeting challenges from parents, young people and others. These are set out in the Children and Families Act (2014), supporting regulations and the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25<\/a>.<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4113", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stratford-on-Avon"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nadhim Zahawi"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-22T14:13:35.04Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Special Educational Needs: Gloucestershire"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information he holds on the amount that Gloucestershire County Council has spent on legal activity regarding education, health and care plans in each of the last three years for which figures are available.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/252", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr David Drew"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stroud"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr David Drew"}
], "uin" : "192698"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1010391", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1010391/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " For the funding year 2018 to 2019, local authorities have the flexibility to transfer up to 0.5% of their schools block funding to another block of the Dedicated Schools Grant, with the approval of their schools forum. Local authorities were only required to submit a request if they wished to transfer more than 0.5% out of the schools block, or if they did not receive support from the schools forum for a transfer.<\/p> 13 local authorities were allowed to transfer over 0.5% from the schools block to the high needs block.<\/p> The local authorities are listed below.<\/p> <\/p>