Number of Shropshire children with special needs hits record high and here's what it means for taxpayers

At the turn of the year, 4,620 children and young people in the Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin local authority areas had an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in place, a legal document which sets out the provision of extra support for each young person.

The statistics released by the UK Government this month show numbers have risen steadily since 2014, and were up from 3,804 the previous year, a rise of 21 percent which is slightly below the national average increase.

Nationwide, local councils issued 84,428 EHCPs in 2024, which represents an increase of 26.6 percent on the previous year. As at January 2024, over half a million children and young people had an ECHP in place across England.

The figures are also driving a surge in home to school transport costs at local authorities, which have seen national rises of 23 per cent compared to the previous year, with Local Government Association (LGA) figures putting budgeted spend at £1.4billion across the country.

In December, Shropshire Council launched a consultation on changes to Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) transport in the county which it said had been prompted by the need to reduce the amount of money it spends on getting children and young people with SEND to their nursery, school or college.

The authority has earmarked £1m of savings as required in educational transport for both mainstream and SEND provision for the current financial year, which it says will be achieved through changes to policy and delivery models.

Councillor Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said the figures showed the need for national level improvement in the SEND system.

“Councils want to be able to provide the very best support to children with special educational needs and their families,” she said.

“It is absolutely vital whoever forms the next government brings forward proposals without delay to reform the SEND system, with a focus on improving levels of mainstream inclusion, as well as write off councils’ high needs deficits.”

Earlier this month, the LGA, which is chaired by Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies, brought forward a white paper calling for national reform of the relationship between national government and local councils.

The organisation estimates local authorities are facing a £6.2billion funding gap over the next two years.