Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the funding of the (a) High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant and (b) servicing of the debt incurred by local authorities.

The government is acutely aware not only of the financial pressures that local authorities are facing because of the increasing cost of supporting young people with complex needs, but also the pressures that the government as a whole is facing because of the financial situation it has inherited. This government is acting as quickly as it can to respond to the cost pressures in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, and is working to consider SEND reforms, including how it can help councils manage the impacts of dedicated schools grant (DSG) deficits on their accounts. This government will also take decisions on local authorities’ DSG allocations for next year as quickly as it can.