Politics

English councils warn of ‘catastrophic’ Send debts forecast to hit £10bn by 2028

The Guardian Politics · 13 October 2026 at 00:01

English councils warn of ‘catastrophic’ Send debts forecast to hit £10bn by 2028

Surge in EHCP applications poses risk to public finances and may lead to deteriorating levels of support Councils are warning of potentially “catastrophic” debts, which are forecast to reach a record £10bn over the next 18 months, as a result of rapid growth in demand for special educational needs and disability (Send) support in English schools.

Although the government recently cleared more than £5bn in historic council Send debts, a surge in requests has led to authorities predicting they will have re-accrued that debt figure by April, and doubled it by 2028.

Read the full article on The Guardian Politics ›

5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.theguardian.com — the content belongs to The Guardian Politics.

English councils warn of ‘catastrophic’ Send debts forecast to hit £10bn by 2028

More from The Guardian Politics

Yvette Cooper pledges £140m to boost urgent care as NHS faces ‘tough’ winter

No action to be taken against wife of PM’s aide over Palestine Action post

Reform candidate filmed saying asylum seekers should be put in ‘concentration camps’

SNP says campaign for next referendum on independence ‘has already begun’

More in Politics

Yvette Cooper pledges £140m to boost urgent care as NHS faces ‘tough’ winter

No action to be taken against wife of PM’s aide over Palestine Action post

Reform candidate filmed saying asylum seekers should be put in ‘concentration camps’

SNP says campaign for next referendum on independence ‘has already begun’

The power of AI is worrying senior Labour figures – as is the fear of ‘falling behind the public’

Briton threatened with deportation from Sweden over Brexit rules goes into hiding