Local authorities face being stripped of control over SEND services if they fail “powerless” families, the minister in charge of major reforms has revealed.
Georgia Gould, the schools minister who is leading changes to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, admitted that some local authorities have been “really failing families” in England.
Gould – who previously ran Camden council – has now confirmed that the Government will remove the license to provide SEND services from councils that are failing to adequately implement the reforms.
Councils are expected to improve services for families by increasing attendance for SEND children, reducing reliance on private special-school places, increasing access to education in mainstream schools, and boosting numbers of educational psychologists and speech and language therapists.
One of the most significant proposed changes to SEND is around education, health and care plans (EHCPs). These legal documents – which set out the help children are entitled to – will be reserved for only the most complex cases by 2035.
The new system will be based on a child’s needs rather than a medical diagnosis, such as autism of ADHD, meaning not all children with these conditions will qualify for legal support.
But campaigners have warned that the Government’s planned reforms will “remove or dilute” legal rights for families, making it even harder for parents to seek appropriate support and challenge unlawful decisions made by councils.
Gillian Doherty, co-director of parent group Special Needs Jungle, said local authorities are “increasingly flouting their legal duties in anticipation of the SEND reforms and that this is having a devastating impact on families”.
Gould, who served as leader of Camden Council from 2017 to 2024, admitted that some local authorities have been “really failing families”, adding: “I’ve been in tears listening to what some parents have gone through.
“Just banging on every door and not being heard. And some parents have had to spend vast sums of money in order to try and battle for support. But for many families that just has not been possible and they just felt completely powerless.”
Speaking to Hayley Harding, founder of SEND education charity Let Us Learn Too, Gould said she wants the Department for Education (DfE) to be “much stronger at really holding local authorities to account for the provision for children” with more support and funding.
Ministers have backed the SEND reforms with a £4bn funding package to boost early intervention and mainstream inclusion, on top of £3.7bn to create 60,000 specialist places in mainstream schools.
But Gould has now also confirmed that the DfE will remove the license to provide SEND services for “failing” councils, saying: “We’ll put in support. But, you know, if needs be we’ll have to do stronger intervention.
“The strongest being taking those services away from those local authorities.”
Council SEND plans will be assessed
In March, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sent councils a letter setting out the Government’s expectations for their reform plan, which was due in June 2026. It is understood that plans drawn up by councils are currently being assessed.
If local authorities fail to meet expectations – such as improving classroom attendance of children with SEND and boosting numbers of education specialists – the letter said the DfE would “not hesitate to use the full range of intervention powers, including removing the license to deliver SEND services”.
Local authorities who do not have SEND plans approved will miss out on the first round of funding to wipe a total of £5bn deficits this autumn. Councils may resubmit their plans in November, but the next round of funding will not come until spring 2027.
Ministers announced plans to write off 90 per cent of councils’ historic SEND deficits accrued up to the end of 2025/26 after the Local Government Association warned that eight in 10 English councils would face bankruptcy if they had to honour the overspend.
Harding, of Let Us Learn Too, said it was “quite emotional” to hear Gould take accountability for councils, saying that if these upcoming reforms are going to work, ministers must be “really honest about exactly how bad it can be for parents”.
But she said threatening to remove SEND services is “certainly not enough”, adding: “I think there needs to be more than just that overarching threat, because I think in order for that to take place it would have to be very, very significant.”
SEND legal charity IPSEA warned that the solution to councils failing to follow the law is not to dilute the laws further.
Madeleine Cassidy, chief executive at IPSEA, said: “At the same time as these failings being acknowledged, the Government’s proposed SEND reforms would weaken the very legal protections that enable parents to challenge unlawful decisions by public bodies.
“If the law is not being properly implemented now, the answer cannot be to remove or dilute those legal rights. The answer is to enforce them.”
IPSEA and Special Needs Jungle are part of the Save Our Children’s Rights (SOCR) charity coalition, which is campaigning against any moves to dilute the current SEND legal framework or scale back access to education, health and care plans (EHCPs).
These are legal documents which describe a child’s individual needs and unlock extra support.
Hence then, the article about failing councils risk losing control of send services minister warns was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Failing councils risk losing control of SEND services, minister warns )
Also on site :
- Hot French startup ZML releases free product to speed inference across lots of AI chips
- Taylor Swift’s Retro Reebok Sneakers From Her ‘Opalite’ Music Video Are a Rare 53% Off at Amazon Right Now
- Totally Hitlarious: Chris Murphy Worries About Dem Party’s Credibility If Platner Isn’t Properly Replaced