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09
Jan
Labour government accused of ‘almost having it in for North Yorkshire’ over funding decision
The Labour government has been accused of ‘almost having it in for North Yorkshire’ after ministers rejected funding plans for children in the county with special educational needs (Send).
North Yorkshire Council bosses hit out at the Department for Education (DfE) following its refusal to allow the authority to transfer around £2 million from its mainstream schools allocation to its high needs budget.
The decision puts further pressure on school funding in the county, with council officers estimating the Send budget will have a deficit of £29m by March 2026.
Council chiefs say the decision will also impact on the level of service it can offer, and will ultimately hit taxpayers in the pocket.
Senior councillors were told of the DfE decision at the authority’s executive meeting on Monday.
Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, described it as “somewhat perverse”, while Cllr Janet Sanderson, executive member for children and young people, said she was “hugely, hugely disappointed”.
She added:
The decision to reject the block transfer will undoubtedly have implication for local services to residents and businesses.
Executive member Cllr Mark Crane said:
I think the news from the DfE and the Government is extraordinarily disappointing and frankly there is no justification for it.
It’s almost as if this wonderful new government has got it in for North Yorkshire. This is going to hit parents and council taxpayers in North Yorkshire in the pocket.
Stuart Carlton, corporate director for children and young people’s service, said the authority had asked the government to reconsider its decision.
He pointed out that a highly critical report by the government watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), found that Send funding was “financially unsustainable” and that none of the steps proposed by DfE would address the challenges faced by the current system.
Mr Carlton, who was Knighted in the New Year’s Honours for his services to children, said:
I would suggest the Department (for Education) needs to read the National Audit Office report into their own provision and the way they’ve gone about it.
It’s very clear the system is unsustainable financially and it’s their system to amend.
The DfE local authorities’ applications for requests to transfer funding from their schools block to high needs were considered on a case by case basis, according to the criteria set out in guidance to schools.
Officials said they were engaged with North Yorkshire Council on the outcome of its application.
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