A vote to invest in new special needs school places was pulled by Bristol City Council chiefs at the last minute. The council’s cabinet was due to give their approval to a major new investment in the city’s special educational needs provision.
But details of what the investment included are currently unclear, as published reports were suddenly removed from the council’s website. The vote is now due to be held in September instead, when more details of the investment should become available. According to the council, “changing cost environments” meant the vote had to be postponed, but opposition councillors have pointed out flaws in the reports.
Green Councillor Christine Townsend said: “[Cabinet papers] state there will be reports to the Department for Education. Given that the final report to the Department for Education happened in July 2021 … this is no longer the case and this part of the paper seems significantly out of date, and no longer fit for purpose.”
