Taxis to school are ‘lifeline’ for children with special needs but councils face ‘unsustainable’ transport costs
England’s largest councils have told Sky News they’re facing a “simply unsustainable” funding crisis due to the soaring cost of transporting children with special needs to school.
More money is now being spent on taxis and minibuses for SEND (Special Educational Needs or Disability) pupils by county councils than on family, youth and sure start services combined.
School transport budgets are being described by the County Councils Network as “increasingly out of control”.
Some even face future bankruptcy if expenditure on special needs school transport stays the same, without intervention, it said.
It is also warning some “discretionary services”, such as libraries and recycling centres, may have to be cut.
A report by the Isos Partnership, released early to Sky News, predicts the cost of sending children with educational needs to school will top £1.1bn in the next five years.
That figure would mean costs tripling over a decade from £397m in 2018/19 to £1.1bn in 2027/28.
The number of pupils eligible for free school transport has increased by 120% in the same period from 58,000 to 129,000.
The increase in cost is driven by the “explosion” in the number of children receiving Education, Health and Care Plans (ECHPs), which set out support needed including transport.
ECHPs are legal documents that all councils must adhere to.
The number of children on these plans has doubled in eight years from 105,000 to 230,000 this year.
The same number of SEND students are also now using cars and taxis as they are minibuses to get to school.
Councillor Tim Oliver, chair of the County Councils Network, describes the rising costs of transport as the “single biggest pressure” facing councils.
He told Sky News the current situation is “simply not sustainable”.
“The consequences are that if we can’t balance the budgets, then we will have to stop other services,” he said.
“It’s as simple as that… the discretionary services, so technically that will be the libraries, some councils may have to close their libraries or shorten their hours.
“We will have to look at the cost of the recycling centres.
“The statutory responsibilities are to look after vulnerable people and vulnerable children, social care responsibilities, everything else broadly are discretionary services so all of those potentially will be at risk.”
The County Councils Network is warning of a £4bn funding deficit over the next three years.
One in 10 councils say they are at risk of insolvency this year, rising to four in 10 in 2024/25 and six in 10 by 2025/26.
Council leaders are calling on the government to step in and provide an “emergency injection of resources” in next week’s autumn statement mini-budget.
Lyndsay Critchlow says the money to get her two sons to school is a ‘lifeline’
Lyndsay Critchlow’s two sons have been diagnosed with Autism and Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA).
Both Harvey, eight, and William, 10, attend a special school around a 40-minute drive away from home.
Their parents can’t drive, and so the boys are transported to classes using a private taxi and personal assistant paid for by the council.
It costs around £17,000 a year.
“It is a lot of money,” Lyndsay says, “but there was nowhere around here that we could find that could meet their needs”.
“Their anxiety is the lowest I’ve ever seen… it’s a lifeline”.
Harvey Critchlow’s brother, William, also attends a special school
Eight-year-old Harvey says he really enjoys going to school now “because they understand me more”.
The boys’ father, Philip Critchlow, also describes the difference in his sons: “Two years ago they were completely different children than what you see today.
“Quite literally, they were quiet and inattentive, maybe saying the odd thing.
“And it was heartbreaking to see. Now they get to be children again.
“And that’s worth more than anything.”
Read more from Sky News:
Why electricity pylons in Essex are the front line in the battle to hit net zero
Benefit claimants to be tracked at job fairs and interviews
Retail sales at lowest level since 2021 COVID lockdown
A government spokesperson said: “Every child should have access to a high-quality education, including those with special educational needs.
“Councils are responsible for providing the right support for children in their areas, including school transport.
“Our published SEND and AP improvement plan sets out how we will make sure all children with special needs and disabilities receive the support they need.
“We are also putting significant investment into the high needs budget, which is increasing by a further £440m for 2024-25, bringing total funding to £10.5bn – an increase of over 60% since 2019-20.”
An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.
The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.
On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.
Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.
“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.
“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”
“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.
Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle in Brisbane Road in the Ilford in the early hours of Thursday morning.
A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.
Harshita Brella, 24, from Corby. Her body was found in a car in east London. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.
“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.
“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”
Pankaj Lamba. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Force referred to police watchdog
On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.
Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.
East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.
State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.
A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.
Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.
His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.
Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.
A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.
His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.
The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.
Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a a good physical match.
Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.
The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.
Read more from Sky News:
Frozen sabre-toothed kitten studied for first time
King to open two food distribution hubs to mark birthday
The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”
Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life
UK
Woman’s body found in car boot in east London – as murder investigation launched by two police forces
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway