Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the formula for allocating per-pupil high needs funding on educational outcomes in local authorities that have a deficit in their high needs education budgets.

The operation of the high needs funding system is currently under review. Our aim is to establish a fair education funding system that directs resources to where they are most needed and enables improved support and outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Because it is important that we take the time needed for this review, the structure of the high needs national funding formula is largely unchanged for the 2025/26 financial year allocations to local authorities and we are considering the funding required in future years, following the conclusion of the recent spending review.

We want future funding for SEND to support our plans for reforming the SEND system, which will be set out in further detail in a white paper in the autumn. We will also outline, before the end of this year, how the government intends to support local authorities in managing their historic and accruing high needs deficits.