Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Deferred
End ringfencing and standard spending requirements on all local authority funding.
Conclusion
The Ministry must end ringfencing by removing the standard spending requirements that are placed on the funding available to local authorities, whether the funding was provided by Government or collected locally. Spending requirements, such as ringfencing, should only be used in response to financial mismanagement. (Recommendation, Paragraph 64)
Government Response Summary
The government's response focused on funding for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform and managing associated deficits, rather than addressing the broader recommendation to end ringfencing of local authority funding.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
52. The Government recognises the pressures local authorities are facing because of their Dedicated School Grant deficits. The Department for Education Spending Review settlement confirmed funding for reform of the current Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system, details of which will be set out in a White Paper in the coming months. 53. The Government recognises that local authorities will need continued support during the transition to a reformed SEND system. This will include working with local authorities to manage their SEND system, including deficits, alongside the extension to the Dedicated Schools Grant Statutory Override, which is now due to expire at the end of 2027–28. The Government will provide more detail in the coming months, including a plan for supporting local authorities with both historic and accruing deficits. We will set out more detail at the provisional LGFS.