A report by Pro Bono Economics, commissioned by the Disabled Children’s Partnership, has found that more than 11,000 SEND tribunals, which contest decisions made by local authorities, were lodged in 2021-22, a rise of 29 per cent on the previous year.
Councils lost 96 per cent of those cases that went to a hearing.
The tribunals were brought by parents or carers of children or young people with SEND disputing council decisions about education, health and care plans (EHCPs).
Anoushka Kenley, head of advocacy at Pro Bono Economics, said, the growing number of legal challenges about how to support children with additional needs was ‘deeply worrying’ and meant children and young people were ‘forced to people forced to go without essential support while these disputes rumble on.’
It also meant that, ‘Cash-strapped councils are wasting millions on unsuccessful disputes.’
PBE estimates that total public sector spending on SEND tribunals in 2021-22 could be as high as £80m, If public sector staff spend as much time preparing for appeals that are registered but not heard,
Key findings also include:
- £59.8m of public money was wasted on lost SEND tribunals in 2021-22 – costs of £46.2mn to local authorities and £13.6mn to the courts.
- 9,960 places in SEN units in mainstream schools could be funded each year with the money wasted on lost SEND tribunals.
- Nearly 3,500 disputed EHCP cases were withdrawn or conceded before they got to tribunal hearing in 2021-22.
As of January, there were more than half a million children and young people in England with EHCPs. The number has risen in recent years, with more than twice as many new EHCPs issued in 2022 than in 2015, when they were introduced.
Researchers said this reflects increased awareness and understanding of SEN, as well as a growing number of parents and carers recognising that they need an EHCP in place for their child’s needs to be adequately met.
Kenley said that the whole process needed ‘a rethink to keep children and their families from the stress and pain of going without the support they so desperately need.’
There are growing disagreements about EHCP decisions, which the report attributes to the result of a combination of growing applications for EHCPs, local authority staff struggling to meet this need while managing tight SEN budgets, and an erosion of trust between people seeking support and local authority staff.
Stephen Kingdom, campaign manager at the Disabled Children’s Partnership, said, ‘It is deeply against the British sense of fair play to pit parents and carers of disabled children against highly-paid barristers paid for by local authorities from money that comes out of the public purse.
‘It is particularly unfair when you understand that these tribunal cases, that can take years, are lost by local authorities in the vast majority of cases because parents know what is best for their children.
‘We are calling for more information, advice for parents and young people; for better training for local council staff so they make the right, lawful decisions first time; and, crucially, stronger accountability.
‘We hear time and again from parents about the fight they have to go through to get the support their children need. This report shows how much public money is being wasted in those battles – money that could instead be providing the education and therapies children need.’
A Department for Education spokesperson said, 'The vast majority of education health and care needs assessments and plans are concluded without the need to resort to tribunal hearings, but we know that the system needs to work better for parents.'
- Download the full report here
