Special Educational Needs: Finance

(asked on 11th February 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding he has allocated to support (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils with special educational needs in Liverpool, West Derby constituency; and how that allocation compares with the average funding level across England.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 19th February 2020

We recently announced £780 million additional high needs funding for 2020-21, a 12% rise bringing the total to over £7 billion. Every local authority in England will see an increase in high needs funding of at least 8% per head of population aged 2 to 18. Liverpool will receive £57.9 million in total high needs funding next year. The department does not break down high needs funding by constituency.

When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) exceed £6,000, the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This top-up funding, and funding for special schools, comes from the local authority’s high needs budget.

We have also allocated £365 million special provision capital funding to local authorities in England from 2018 to 2021, to increase number of places available locally and enhance facilities for children with the most complex SEND. This could include re-purposing areas so that they meet the needs of pupils with SEND.

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