Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of pupils in Nottinghamshire with individual education, health and care plans whose schools have yet to receive the additional funding needed for their implementation; and how long on average schools have waited to receive that funding in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Local authorities are legally required to provide schools with sufficient funds to enable them to meet the additional cost of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, by up to £6,000, in their base budgets.

When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the local authority’s high needs budget. Whilst many pupils who are in receipt of this top-up funding do have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, it is not a requirement for them to have one; nor is there a requirement that every pupil with an EHC plan should receive top-up funding. The allocation of this top-up funding is a matter between the local authority and the school, and the department does not collect information on when schools are allocated funding by local authorities.