Sophia HamiltonHerefordshire Council delivered what it described as a "balanced" budget for 2025/26 this week — but the numbers behind that balance are stark. Council officers achieved £13.2 million in savings, the largest single-year saving programme in the authority's history, to close last year's gap. For 2026/27, the shortfall is estimated at £27–30 million. The cuts required include adult social care, temporary accommodation — and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision.
For families in Herefordshire who rely on SEND support, the council's financial crisis raises an urgent legal question: what can you actually do when your local authority cannot — or will not — meet its statutory obligations to your child?
What Herefordshire's Budget Crisis Means for SEND Families
The Q4 budget report presented to Herefordshire Cabinet on 21 May 2026 identified SEND as one of the key pressure areas for the coming financial year. Herefordshire is not unique — across England, councils are collectively carrying over £3 billion in SEND deficits. But Herefordshire's position is particularly acute given the scale of cuts required relative to its population.
In practice, budget pressure on SEND typically manifests in several ways that families recognise immediately: longer waits for Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments, reduced hours of support specified in plans, challenges securing specialist placements, and difficulty accessing therapy services (speech and language, occupational therapy, educational psychology) within the timescales the law requires.
The critical point for Herefordshire families is this: a council's financial difficulties do not change its legal obligations. The Children and Families Act 2014 created enforceable rights for children with EHCPs — rights that do not diminish because a council faces a budget crisis.
What the Law Requires of Councils on SEND
The Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice set out specific legal duties:
EHCP assessments have statutory timescales. Once a request for an EHC needs assessment is made, the local authority must decide within six weeks whether to conduct one, and must complete the full assessment and issue the final plan within 20 weeks. Missing these deadlines is a breach of the law, not a bureaucratic inconvenience.
Plans must specify provision, not aspirations. An EHCP must set out the specific, quantified support your child needs. Phrases like "regular speech therapy" or "access to specialist support" are legally inadequate — courts have consistently found that vague wording defeats the enforceability of the plan. "Two 30-minute sessions of speech and language therapy per week, delivered by a qualified therapist" is an example of lawfully specific provision.
Councils must fund what the plan specifies. Once an EHCP is finalised, the local authority is legally required to arrange the provision it describes. If the provision is not in place, the council is in breach of its duty under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 — regardless of cost pressures.
Independent schools can be named. If the local authority cannot provide what your child needs in a state-funded setting, families have the right to request that a specific independent special school is named in the EHCP. The council can object on cost grounds, but must demonstrate that the placement at the mainstream or state school alternative would genuinely meet the child's needs.
According to UK government guidance on SEND support and EHCPs, parents have the right to challenge any decision made by the local authority about their child's SEND support — including refusals to assess, refusals to issue an EHCP, and the content of a plan.
Your Right to Challenge: The SEND Tribunal
The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) — commonly called the SEND Tribunal — is the formal legal route for challenging local authority decisions about EHCPs. It is free to use, and families do not need a lawyer to bring a case — though specialist legal representation significantly improves outcomes.
Families can appeal to the SEND Tribunal against:
- A refusal to conduct an EHC needs assessment
- A refusal to issue an EHCP after assessment
- The content of an EHCP (including the provision specified, the school named, or the description of the child's needs)
- A decision to cease maintaining an EHCP
In 2024/25, families won approximately 95% of cases that reached the SEND Tribunal — a figure that reflects how frequently local authorities make legally indefensible decisions and how reluctant many are to settle cases before tribunal.
For context on how central government's recent SEND reforms interact with these local authority pressures, see this analysis of Bridget Phillipson's SEND shake-up and what it means for UK parents.
What to Do If Herefordshire Reduces Your Child's SEND Support
If you receive a letter from Herefordshire Council proposing to amend or reduce your child's EHCP, or if you are waiting significantly beyond the 20-week statutory timeline:
Request a formal explanation in writing. The council must give written reasons for any decision that affects your child's EHCP. A verbal explanation or phone call is not sufficient.
Calculate your timelines. If the council has missed its statutory deadlines, log the specific dates. This information is directly relevant to any complaint or tribunal appeal.
Submit a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can investigate systemic failures in SEND administration, including chronically missed deadlines, and can require councils to pay compensation to affected families. Complaints are free.
Contact a SEND specialist solicitor. Many SEND solicitors offer free initial advice and work on legal aid for tribunal cases. Getting advice early — before an EHCP is amended or a placement withdrawn — puts you in a much stronger position than acting after the change has taken effect.
Mediation is a mandatory step. Before appealing to the SEND Tribunal, families must contact a mediation adviser (though they do not have to proceed with mediation itself). This is a procedural requirement under the 2014 Act, and missing it will delay your appeal.
The Bigger Picture: 153 Councils, One Crisis
Herefordshire is one of 153 local authorities in England carrying SEND deficits that collectively exceed £3 billion. The government's current reform agenda — including plans to improve EHCP quality and reduce tribunal volumes — does not resolve the immediate funding gap facing councils like Herefordshire in 2026/27.
For families, the practical consequence is that legal knowledge matters more than it did five years ago. Understanding that statutory timescales are legally enforceable, that vague EHCP provision wording is challengeable, and that the SEND Tribunal exists specifically to correct local authority decisions — this knowledge is the difference between accepting a reduced service and exercising rights that the law already provides.
This article contains general legal information and does not constitute legal advice. For advice about your child's specific SEND situation, consult a qualified SEND solicitor or educational advocate.
