Proper news from Britain - News from Britain you won’t find anywhere else. Not the tosh the big media force-feed you every day!
Britain's largest teaching union is threatening strike action after Rachel Reeves provided no extra funding for schools in her Budget on Wednesday.
The National Education Union (NEU) said it will not accept 'the continued underfunding of our schools' or 'another pay cut'.
The Chancellor's latest tax and spend package did not mention funding for schools other than £5million for libraries in secondary schools and £18million for playgrounds.
But schools voiced alarm at the prospect a 4.9 per cent drop in funding after the Government agreed to pick up the tab for local councils' spiralling SEND costs.
The Budget revealed that from 2028-29 councils will no longer have to run deficits to pay for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Instead 'future funding implications' will be managed by central Government, with plans promised later to deal with the huge debts already run up.
The move followed warnings that dozens of local authorities are on the verge of going bust following an explosion in autism and ADHD diagnosis.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned that no savings had been found to offset the estimated £6billion it will cost the Government to take on SEND costs.
The watchdog warned schools would see a 4.9 per cent fall in per pupil spending if the Government funded these costs from the core schools budget.
This would be rather than the 0.5 per cent increase that had been planned. A 4.9 per cent reduction would be roughly equivalent to £400 per pupil a year.
The Department for Education said this claim is incorrect, and any deficits will be absorbed within the overall Government budget.
In response to the Budget, NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: 'The National Education Union will not accept the continued underfunding of our schools.
'We will not accept another pay cut. Our national executive will meet this Saturday to decide next steps.
'We must convince this Government to change course - even if that means balloting for strike action. We must - and we will - save our schools.'
Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the headteachers' union ASCL, said: 'Several local authorities are seemingly at risk of financial collapse as a result of deficits relating to SEND spending.
'Were this risk to be transferred onto schools, in the form of budget cuts to cover the cost of SEND provision being absorbed into departmental spending, it would be catastrophic.'
Laura Trott, the Tory shadow education secretary, said it would 'push already struggling schools further into the red'.
The move comes in response to many councils facing financial collapse due to overspend on SEND.
The number of pupils entitled to council-funded care has soared by 80 per cent since 2019, driven by a rise in diagnoses of autism and ADHD.
The OBR said this crisis is likely to come to a head in 2028-29, when councils will be obliged to acknowledge their deficits in their budgets.
Previously, they have been able to disregard the deficits due to 'statutory override'.
The Budget document said the Government would set out plans at a later date to 'support local authorities with historic and accruing deficits'.
However, the OBR noted: 'The statutory override is due to end in 2028-29 by when these deficits could have reached a total of £14billion, and a large number of local authorities would as a result not meet their balanced budget requirement.
'The Government has not set out how this would be addressed and so it represents a significant fiscal risk.'
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson, the party's education spokesperson, said: 'The £6billion gap in special educational needs funding by 2028-29 is a damning indictment of this Government's failure to get a grip on the system.
'The Government must not solve this crisis by raiding the budgets of mainstream schools. They must stop the scandalous profiteering in this sector that is costing the taxpayer millions and harming children's education.'
Earlier this month, the County Councils Network revealed 59 local authorities face 'total collapse' when their deficits are formally added to their books.
The Government plans to reform the SEND system, with proposals due to be released in the New Year.
It is understood ministers want to provide more school-level support so that only high-needs cases get EHCPs.
A Local Government Association spokesman said: 'While it is positive the Government has committed to absorbing the costs of SEND spending from 2028/29 – and we look forward to clarity on how this will be funded – this does not address existing deficits, which are pushing many councils to the financial brink.'
They urged the Government to 'write off these deficits' as part of an upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.
A DfE spokesman said of the claim about school budgets being squeezed: 'This claim is incorrect – we are clear that any deficit will be absorbed within the overall government budget. These projections also do not account for the much-needed SEND reforms this government will bring forward.'
Other Budget announcements included an extra £5 million in 2026-27 to buy new books for secondary schools, and £18 million over two years to upgrade 200 playgrounds across England.