UK to overhaul special-needs

Britain will unveil long-delayed reforms to England's special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system on Monday, as rising demand and sharply escalating costs push it towards a financial breaking point.



The Labour government is under pressure to fix a system which its budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has ​warned will leave it ‌footing a $8.09 billion bill by the end of the decade.



This month, ministers wrote off 90% of councils' historic SEND-related deficits after eight in 10 local authorities warned they risked becoming insolvent under mounting costs.



The government has said it will assume the full cost of SEND provision from 2028.



The Department for Education said its $5.4 billion package over the next three years is designed to ease pressures by improving early intervention and making mainstream schools more inclusive.



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