Bristol City Council bankruptcy warning as SEND costs spiral

A council has been warned urgent action is needed to avoid bankruptcy over the spiralling cost of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

In the last financial year Bristol City Council spent £94.6m on the sector, £16m more than was initially budgeted.

Added to previous overspend, it now has a total deficit of £42.5m with three years to reduce the amount.

The council is now working to lower costs despite rising demand in its SEND provision.

Although councils are not legally allowed to outspend their budgets, parliament granted special permission for councils to run deficits in their schools budget until March 2026.

During a schools forum meeting on Tuesday, warnings were given over what could happen if Bristol does not balance its books by the deadline, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Council finance manager Angel Lai said: "There's a risk to the local authority if we don't turn the financial position around and we can't afford it.

"We don't have the reserves to cover the overspend as it is, let alone if the position keeps on deteriorating... it's a huge financial risk to the local authority."

She said if the council does nothing, when the statutory instrument ends the local council will run out of money.

"And if you run out of money… bankruptcy," she said.

Ms Lai added that although it will "take a bit of time", modest forecasts provided by the Department for Education suggest that by 2025-26 they could reach an in-year balance.

Tonya Hill, headteacher of New Fosseway School, which provides 150 places for children identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, said there are going to be difficult and "hard times ahead".

"This will be very, very emotive but at the end of the day, we're talking bankruptcy. So there has to be some kind of give and take," she said.

Earlier this year the Department for Education gave Bristol City Council £1m to explore ways to save money in the high needs block.

A consultation on options, for the Delivering Better Value for SEND programme, is expected to launch in the coming weeks.

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