In fact, West Sussex County Council last month announced a record £54.1 million overspend on the “high needs” part of its Dedicated Schools Grant last year. This series of fiscal mismanagement overspent the total to a whopping £123.2 million by March. The council is grappling with an overwhelming surge in demand for services catering to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Stacking the Deck Against Officials They aren’t at all surprising. They are calling on Members of Parliament (MPs) to do their bit to address the serious funding crisis.
Jacquie Russell, cabinet member for children, young people and learning at West Sussex County Council. She is unequivocal about tackling her city’s most urgent needs. She implored committee members to lobby their own MPs about the critical lack of funding. In addition, she extended an open invite to MPs for a council meeting to talk through the challenges that the council is experiencing right now.
“This authority, like many, many across the nation, is trying very hard to deal with a tidal wave of demand with its hands tied behind its backs,” Russell stated. She also stressed that the government’s SEND capital budget this year is just £12 million. Yet she went on to call it “a drop in the ocean.”
West Sussex County Council has been put under increasing financial duress, a microcosm of the national picture. By the end of the 2027-28 academic year, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) budgets are expected to be running £4 billion over budget. The council itself is part of the F40 group whose members are the lowest funded councils in England. Interestingly, West Sussex County Council gets only 30% of the funding per capita as smaller London boroughs such as Kingston upon Thames.
Russell expressed her frustration at the funding disparity, stating, “the gap between the amount of money West Sussex County Council needs for education and what it receives is an absolute disgrace.” She has proposed that a full review of the entire funding system be conducted to dig deeper into these inequities.
Russell has challenged MPs to join meetings led by F40. This invitation underlines the critical importance of a collective action to address the capital funding crisis experienced by all local authorities.
As West Sussex County Council navigates this complex landscape, officials remain hopeful that greater collaboration and increased funding will help alleviate the burdens faced by children with SEND in the region.
