Don’t blame middle-class parents for the cost of special-needs childcare

I was wondering how long it would take someone to blame “middle-class parents” for the growing financial holes faced by councils.

This week, the leaders of 33 local authorities in England warned the government against funding cuts that would place “severe and mounting pressures” on frontline services.

It came after Nottingham City Council last month revealed it was on course for a £23 million overspend, and blamed its financial squeeze on real-terms cuts in government funding and rising demand for services. It then issued a Section 114 notice, effectively declaring bankruptcy – the seventh authority to do so since 2018.

Scapegoats are urgently being sought. And, right on cue, a “council source” has been found to whine in The Times about the cost of children with special educational need and disabilities (SEND): “There has been an explosion in ­demand for education, health and care plans (EHCPs) — often, it’s middle-class parents pushing it.”

Let’s be clear. EHCP documents – which set out a child’s needs, and how they must be met – are not easy to obtain. My wife and I have spent three years in a bare-knuckle bureaucratic brawl with Redbridge council in an attempt to secure an EHCP for our child.

Twice we went through “mediation” sessions, which appeared from our side to be little more than attempts on the part of the council to delay proceedings. No mediation was actually done. The council rep simply read out its decision, which we already knew. The only concession made was that if we came back with more information, or presented it in a different format, they might take another look.

In terms of our time and ancillary costs, it is an exhausting and extremely expensive process. To manage it, my wife had to move from full to part-time work.

We only got an EHCP when, at our wits end, we submitted the papers required for an appeal (96 per cent of cases that go to a tribunal are upheld). The care plan that emerged still fails to address our child’s issues, so we fight on. The whole thing is like swimming through an enormous vat of Heinz extra-chunky vegetable soup.

But if councils did their jobs properly and behaved as the law says they should, such tribunals wouldn’t be necessary. And this would free up resources. With bankruptcies looming, it might be worth considering just how much.

Special Needs Jungle, an organisation that helps SEND parents, and which our family would describe as nothing short of a lifeline, has produced some numbers. It estimates that, in 2021-22, councils allocated around £73m to defend against SEND appeals. Since SEND reforms were introduced in 2014, it puts the total at in excess of £325m. It thinks the judicial system has spent a further £100m on hearing appeals.

Given the uphold rate overwhelmingly in the families’ favour, the council taxpayer’s return on that expenditure looks nothing short of abysmal. Local authorities have been pouring millions down this particular drain, money that could have been spent on the frontline services that are now threatened by declarations of bankruptcy.

But it is hard to feel much sympathy for council bosses, given the way they have been carrying on. Pointing the finger at “pushy middle-class parents” is nothing less than a classist slur, one that also implies working-class parents don’t have the wherewithal or the interest to fight for their kids.

Special Needs Jungle would tell you otherwise; the families the organisation helps come from all backgrounds.

So here’s an idea for those councils looking at the numbers in front of them and blanching: stop pouring money down the toilet and start doing the right thing by the vulnerable children you are failing. It really is that simple.