Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Accepted
Exceptional Financial Support is no longer exceptional and lacks long-term funding strategy.
Conclusion
Written evidence we received highlighted that EFS was no longer considered exceptional and there were concerns that some local authorities required measures ‘over and above’ the EFS framework, given the scale of their financial distress.64 MHCLG told us it recognised that whilst EFS provided support in the short term, it formed “part of a toolkit”, and was not a long term strategy to deal with local government funding.65 It added that it saw EFS as a short-term intervention until it can make the more fundamental changes it plans.66
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to address local authority funding pressures, committing to reform the SEND system with a White Paper in Autumn 2025 and a phased transition, alongside extending the Dedicated Schools Grant Statutory Override until 2027-28.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: end of 2025 5.2 This 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 Autumn 2025. 5.3 The government will commence a phased transition process to a new SEND system which will include working with local authorities to manage their system, including deficits, alongside an extension to the Dedicated Schools Grant Statutory Override, previously due to end in March 2026, until the end of 2027-28. The government will set out more detail at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement on the plan for supporting local authorities with both historic and accruing deficits.