SEND Budgets for 2023, 2024 and 2025. - Find a freedom of information request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide me with the following information:

1. What is the name of your local authority?

2. How much was spent on your high needs budget by the end of the financial year 2023/24? Please add the value below

3. What was your original allocated high needs budget for 2023/24?

4. How much are you expecting to have spent on your high needs budget by the end of the financial year 2024/25? Please add the value below                                                           

5. What is your original allocated high needs budget for 2024/25?

6. Have you sought permission from the Department for Education to move more than 0.5% from the DSG to high needs in the current financial year 2024/25? Please indicate YES / NO

7. If YES, was permission granted? Please indicate YES / NO

8. Has the council signed up to the Safety Valve programme or any other government scheme to reduce its SEND deficit? If so, how much money has been offered to the council?                     

8. a) YES / NO 

8. b) Name of scheme (if YES)

8. c) Value of scheme to the council

9. Has the council been part of the Delivering Better Value in SEND programme? Please indicate YES / NO

10. Please tell us about any other ways the council is looking to reduce pressure on its high needs budget and add any further comments that would help us understand those pressures on your high needs budget.

1. Lincolnshire County Council

2. £107,941,133 (this is assuming that special schools have spent their delegated budget and CEC)

3. For 2023/2024 the original allocation from the DfE in December 2022 and before deductions was £126,416,308 (taken from the 23/24 DSB High Needs Block s/s under budget setting)

4. As we haven’t done a forecast yet, the figure would still match the budget identified below

5. £131,047,150 (as per 2024/2025 HN s/sheet – column P)

6. No

7. Information Not Available.

8.

8a) No

9. No

10. Application for a Free SEMH school build, expansion of AP provision to reduce the costs of INMS / Home Tuition provision. Additionally as part of ongoing SEND improvement and development, LCC plan to commission various reviews/audits of support services/systems to review VFM.