Please provide the following information:
1. What is the name of your local authority?
Devon County Council
2. How much was spent on your high needs budget by the end of the financial year 2023/24? Please add the value below.
£149.4 million
3. What was your original allocated high needs budget for 2023/24?
Original budget set by Local Authority £135.6 million
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
£155.4 million
5. What is your original allocated high needs budget for 2024/25?
£155.4 million
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
No
7. If YES, was permission granted? Please indicate YES / NO
N/A
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
This information is exempt from disclosure under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Information accessible to applicant by other means) because the information is already publicly available on the Department for Education (DoE) website Devon safety valve agreement (publishing.service.gov.uk)
9. Has the council been part of the Delivering Better Value in SEND programme? Please indicate YES / NO
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.
Devon County Council’s strategies and plans to improve the experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and lead to a financially sustainable position, focus on the following themes:
- Inclusion and Early Help: Focus on early intervention so that the majority of children have their needs met within their local mainstream setting, through strengthened universal and targeted support and an expansion of Early Help services.
- Preparation for Adulthood: Developing shared pathways into adulthood across the local system, supporting young people (14 – 25yrs) to access appropriate education and training and ensure a planned transition into employment, independent living, or identified next step in adult life. This includes creating additional specialist places in mainstream Colleges.
- Sufficiency: Ensuring that appropriate local provision is available to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND across Devon, including sufficient special school places, the establishment of Specialist Resource Provision and improved use of Alternative Provision (AP).
- Placement Value: Improving processes and use of data to make informed decisions about how the Council spends money to support children and young people with SEND in a timely way. Improving the commissioning of independent placements and AP.