Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council is looking to cut the cost of supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) after recording a £15.4m overspend.

In documents being presented to the local authority’s cabinet tonight, officers warn that ‘SEND remains the most significant financial risk’ the council faces.

They add that ‘pressures continue to place significant strain on local authority finances and reinforce the need for fundamental reform of the SEND system’.

Officers also warn that its children’s services are £4.6m over budget.

To tackle ‘increasing financial pressures arising from SEND demand and provision’ the council is submitting a SEND Reform Plan and Financial Recovery Plan to the Department for Education.

This will include ‘detailed work to refine forecasts, identify mitigating actions and reduce future cost pressures’, say officers, who add that ‘further updates will be provided’ to councillors ‘as this work progresses’.

Officers note that subject to these plans being approved by the DfE it is expecting 90% of its cumulative Dedicated Schools Grant deficit of £50.5m to be met by the Government. The remainder is to be met by the council, which has allocated £5m of its reserves ‘towards this liability’.

Last month the DfE launched a consultation that could see mainstream schools receive more funding up-front to support pupils with SEND.

Schools currently spend the first £6,000 on SEND provision for each pupil before applying for further funding. This threshold has stayed the same since 2013 and would be worth more than £8,000 if it had kept pace with inflation.