Fix SEN funding to avoid ‘absurd’ council deficits in England, IFS says

The pressure on the system, according to the IFS, is due to the ‘rocketing’ number of children and young people with education, health and care plans. Photograph: 10’000 Hours/Getty Images

Council deficits in England could spiral to “absurd” levels in excess of £8bn in less than three years without radical reform of special educational needs funding, a leading economics thinktank has said.

Spending on pupils with SEN has gone up nearly 60% over the past decade, with the government announcing a further £1bn in the October budget, but increased investment has failed to meet rising need, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.