Ten councils were on the brink of declaring effective bankruptcy this year over black holes in education budgets until the government stepped in, a senior official has admitted.
Schools Week can also reveal some councils are draining reserves to plug high-needs deficits while their other services face cuts, while another pleaded for government help with cashflow problems.
Tony McArdle, a former council chief now working on special educational needs and disabilities reforms for central government, told Schools Week that “ten or 11” local authorities had been facing an “existential risk”.
In 2020, the government gave councils breathing space over soaring SEND budget shortfalls by effectively suspending ordinary accounting rules.
