Education Secretary Privately Reassures Labour MPs Over "Misleading" OBR Claims About SEND
The government revealed that it intended to absorb the spiralling cost of SEND provision (Alamy)
4 min read
The Education Secretary has sought to privately reassure Labour MPs about the rising costs of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) after details announced in the Budget triggered alarm within the party.
Bridget Phillipson and a junior minister within her department have both criticised how the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) analysis of SEND was presented.
On Wednesday, the government revealed in the Budget that it intended to take responsibility for the rising cost of SEND provision from councils once the mechanism that allows debt to remain off local authority books ends in 2028.
The Department for Education (DfE) is yet to confirm how it will pay for the accumulated council deficits. The OBR said that “the government has not set out how this would be addressed and so it represents a significant fiscal risk."
In its independent forecast published yesterday to coincide with the Budget, the OBR projected that SEND spending in England would reach £6bn a year by 2028.
The watchdog prompted alarm among Labour MPs by also stating that these costs would be fully funded by the DfE’s core schools budget, implying "a 4.9 per cent real fall in mainstream schools spending per pupil” from 2028-29, rather than a planned 0.5 per cent real-terms increase.
In a note shared privately with Labour MPs, seen by PoliticsHome, Education Secretary Phillipson said this presentation was "misleading" and that it is "very clear" in documents produced by the Treasury that funding for SEND would not come just from the core schools budget.
"Any future SEND costs will be managed through 'overall government DEL [Departmental Expenditure Limits]' not through the Core Schools Budget as the OBR has suggested, and the OBR content here is being presented in a way which is quite misleading," she said.
Phillipson added that the government hadn't yet shared its plans for SEND reform with the OBR, "which we expect to bring down cost — for example, more local specialist places reducing demand for travel/more costly private provision".
Her note added: "I am disappointed but not at all surprised that the Conservatives have started scaremongering about something that isn’t even happening. Having spent 14 years systematically underfunding our schools, they are now complaining when we are turning that round."
In an interview after the Budget, schools minister Georgia Gould echoed Phillipson, saying that “the chart that sat against the dedicated schools group funding was misleading”.
“If you look at the Budget's response and the government's response, they have been crystal clear that it will be dealt with as part of wider government funding,” she said.
Long-awaited proposals for SEND reform are expected to be published in January after initially being pencilled in for September and then October. PoliticsHome reported in September that there was concern within government about a political backlash akin to the Labour backbench revolt which resulted in Keir Starmer ditching welfare reforms.
The OBR has come under intense scrutiny after the independent watchdog accidentally published details of the Budget before Rachel Reeves announced them on Wednesday.
Richard Hughes, OBR chairman, said on Thursday he would resign from his position if the government and MPs no longer had confidence in him. The error, which Reeves called "deeply disappointing", infuriated Labour MPs and is expected to result in more public calls for the watchdog to be reformed or abolished.
"It's just the latest in a long line of reasons that prove the urgent need for reform," former cabinet minister Louise Haigh told PoliticsHome.
Such was the anger among Labour MPs, some have privately expressed a belief that the details were deliberately leaked to destabilise the Labour government.
On Wednesday, a DfE spokesperson said that it was “incorrect” for the OBR to say the pressure may be absorbed by the core schools budget and the "projections also do not account for the much-needed SEND reforms this government will bring forward".
Avnee Morjaria, associate director of the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank, said that even if costs of SEND are spread across the government budget, it is "clear that the trajectory of cost is unsustainable".
Education Committee chair, Labour MP Helen Hayes, told PoliticsHome: "It is important in light of the Budget announcement that the government provides urgent clarity on how SEND reform will be delivered."
