From the Guardian:
More than £100m was spent last year by local authorities and the government on failed efforts to block support for children and young people with special educational needs in England, according to analysis by the Guardian.
A considerable amount of resources are being deployed to avert the duty of providing support for children with special educational needs by councils. But most of the time when their decision is appealed it is later over-turned, meaning they have to pay it and any costs of contesting it in any case, rendering the actually entirely unproductive even on its own terms. Councils won just 1.2% of these cases during 2022-2023.
Per the Independent Provider of Special Education Advice:
It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that local authorities must calculate, at some level, that it costs them less to contest tribunal appeals, even if they lose, than to provide every child and young person with what the law entitles them to as a matter of course – because the majority of families don’t [or] can’t appeal.
And at a time where the services are needed more than ever. As the budget for other types of support have dwindled, a lot more families are applying for and getting these education, health and care plans, which end up being the only way to support their children through education. Nearly 1 in 19 children aged 5-15 currently have such a plan.