Important questions on use of budget
Families, staff and schools are being consulted by the county council on proposals to reshape the use of the high needs budget for children and young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND).
The council must ensure that the increasingly pressurised budget is spent in the most effective and efficient way possible to meet the assessed needs of children and young people.
It has put forward proposals for consultation which set out changes to funding and provision for children and young people who have been excluded or who are at risk of exclusion, changes to funding arrangements for young people post16 with special educational needs and changes to the way top-up funding for children with special educational needs is allocated.
The council, one of the lowestfunded authorities in England, has a high needs budget of £44.2m and is currently projecting financial pressures in the order of £5.5m. This increased expenditure is predicted to keep rising in the near future due to the increase in numbers of education, health and care plans and ongoing pressure in terms of placements.
County Councillor Patrick Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s executive member for education and skills, said: “Supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities is one of the most important jobs that we do. We must make sure that the needs of children and young people are met, and that we fulfil our statutory duties. But we must also explore every avenue to ensure that the resources we have are spent in the best way we can.
“Our cost pressures are very grave due to chronic Government high needs underfunding from the Department for Education. The proposals put forward for consultation will help to bring about the council’s recently adopted strategic plan for children and young people with special needs.”
The consultation survey along with the dates of information events is at www.northyorks.gov.uk/changeshigh-needs-budget. The consultation is open until 11 November.