The Liberal Democrats are today calling for emergency
intervention in the broken market for private Special Educational
Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision, after new data shows
local authority spending on these firms has skyrocketed by more
than tenfold in some areas since 2015.
To tackle this scandalous profiteering at the expense of
children's education, the Liberal Democrats are calling for an
immediate investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority
(CMA) into the private SEND market to root out price gouging.
The party is also calling for a profit cap on private SEND
providers to stop private equity firms draining public funds,
with an 8% cap in line with other public tender contracts.
A Freedom of Information request commissioned by the Liberal
Democrats has revealed the staggering scale of the crisis.
Analysis of spending by local authorities across England shows
that payments to private providers have exploded since 2015,
pushing council finances to the brink.
The data reveals massive spending increases in counties across
England, with 30 total councils responding, including:
- Hampshire County Council: Spending on private SEND providers
has risen by over 569% since 2015/16, from just under £14 million
to nearly £93 million last year.
- Surrey County Council: Expenditure has almost tripled, rising
from £39.5 million to over £115 million.
- Central Bedfordshire: Recorded a staggering 1,214% increase,
with costs jumping from £424,000 to over £5.5 million.
- Kent County Council: Now spending over £91 million a year on
private providers, up from £34.7 million in 2015/16.
Liberal Democrats will submit a bill to Parliament, calling for
the Government to enshrine into law our proposed 8% profit cap on
private SEND providers. Yesterday, Lib Dem leader MP, education spokesperson MP and schools spokesperson
MP met with families who
rely on SEND provision to discuss the issues facing them.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, MP, said:
“It beggars belief that successive Governments have allowed this
rigged racket to drag on as long as it has. Greedy private equity
firms have drained council coffers whilst vulnerable children
have been left waiting for the support they
desperately need.”
"With private placements costing two and a half times more than
state provision, the market is unsustainably broken - something
has to give.
"Liberal Democrats are demanding that the Government caps these
profits and launches an immediate CMA investigation into the
fairness of the market. Every penny of funding for special needs
provision must go into the classroom to support children, not
into the pockets of private equity."
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
All data from our FOI can be found here.
