The Guardian view on the Send crisis: Bridget Phillipson must be tough with the Treasury so children aren't penalised | Editorial

"The crisis over special educational needs and disabilities in England is not just a question of cash. Children and parents spend months and years battling for support to which the law entitles them, schools lack the funding to meet needs, and specialist provision is inadequate. An adversarial system shunts families towards tribunals that councils almost invariably lose. Tory reforms created obligations for local authorities but did not adequately fund them allowing ministers to duck responsibility."

"The result has been financial chaos, with the overall overspend on special educational needs and disabilities (Send) predicted to reach 6.6bn by next March, and keep rising. Taking responsibility for funding away from councils and handing it to the Department for Education is the right move. But the most important questions about Send go beyond accounting. A white paper on reform was postponed in October."

"Trust is lacking among campaigners who believe, with some justification, that cost-cutting is the underlying purpose. Unevidenced claims that lower spending will be a side-effect of any changes do not help. Labour's stated aim, reiterated by Rachel Reeves, is a tilt towards the inclusion of children with additional needs in mainstream schools, away from separate provision. Rightly, ministers are determined to avoid a repeat of what happened in children's social care, where a hollowing-out of public sector capacity created a space captured by private businesses."

Children and parents spend months or years fighting for legally entitled support while schools lack funding and specialist provision remains inadequate. An adversarial system pushes families to tribunals that councils almost always lose. Successive reforms imposed duties on local authorities without sufficient funding, creating financial chaos and a projected Send overspend of £6.6bn by next March. Shifting funding responsibility to the Department for Education addresses accountability, but core issues extend beyond budgets. A planned white paper and decisions on education, health and care plans and tribunal processes have been delayed. Campaigners distrust intentions amid fears that reform aims to cut costs.

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