Cash-strapped councils getting government help to make their SEND services “sustainable” will still be left with huge deficits on their education budgets, even if predicted savings under the scheme bear fruit.
Councils’ figures show that measures proposed under the Delivering Better Value in SEND (DBV) programme will not dent billions of pounds in cumulative budget deficits over the next five years.
By this time, these deficits are scheduled to have returned to general fund balance sheets, threatening councils’ overall financial solvency.
Matt Keer, a contributor to the Special Needs Jungle website, said the programme “won’t please anyone. It can’t solve the frontline SEND provision crisis.
