See answers to previous information requests

I am conducting comparative research on the financial costs associated with local authority statutory SEND functions across England. The same request is being submitted to all local authorities with SEND responsibilities, so that responses can be compared on a consistent basis. The questions have been drafted to be proportionate, to minimise the need for clarification, and to avoid asking for any information that would require the creation of new data.

1. SEND Tribunal legal costs.
For each of the financial years 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25:
a) the total amount spent by your authority on external legal representation in connection with SEND Tribunal appeals, including solicitors' fees, counsel's fees, and fees for expert witnesses instructed by your authority;
b) the total amount spent on any in-house legal resource allocated to SEND Tribunal work, if recorded separately;
c) if the total legal cost per case is recorded or calculable, the average cost per appeal.

2. Independent and non-maintained placement costs For each of the financial years 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25:
a) the total number of children and young people with EHCPs placed by your authority in independent or non-maintained special schools;
b) the total annual expenditure on those placements;
c) the average annual cost per placement;
d) the number of those placements that were made following a SEND Tribunal order or were conceded during Tribunal proceedings, as distinct from placements made by your authority's own decision.

3. Average cost of maintaining an EHCP For the most recent financial year for which data is available:
a) the total expenditure by your authority on provision specified in EHCPs, including direct payments, top-up funding to schools, and commissioned services, but excluding independent placement costs reported under Question 2;
b) the total number of EHCPs maintained by your authority at the end of that financial year;
c) if calculated or calculable, the average annual cost per EHCP.

4. Cease to maintain decisions and outcomes For each of 2023, 2024, and 2025:
a) the total number of decisions by your authority to cease to maintain an EHCP;
b) the number of those decisions subsequently challenged by parents or young persons through appeal to the SEND Tribunal;
c) of the appeals at (b), the number conceded by your authority before hearing;
d) of the appeals at (b), the number where the Tribunal ordered the EHCP to be maintained.

5. Personal budgets
For each of 2023, 2024, and 2025:
a) the total number of requests received by your authority for a personal budget under section 49 of the Children and Families Act 2014;
b) the number of those requests that were agreed;
c) the number that were refused;
d) the total value of personal budgets agreed in each year.

6. Named school and parental preference outcomes For each of 2024 and 2025:
a) the total number of cases in which a parent or young person expressed a preference for a particular school or institution to be named in section I of an EHCP under section 38(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014;
b) the number of those cases where the parental preference was agreed and the preferred school was named;
c) the number of those cases where the parental preference was refused.

7. Annual review completion rates For each of 2024 and 2025:
a) the total number of EHCPs due for annual review within the calendar year;
b) the number of those reviews completed within 12 months of the previous review, in accordance with section 44(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014;
c) the number of annual reviews that resulted in an amendment to the EHCP.

Definitions used in this request:
- "Your authority" means the local authority to which this request has been submitted.
- "2023", "2024" and "2025" mean the calendar years 1 January to 31 December in each case. Where your authority holds the data only by academic or financial year, please provide the nearest equivalent period and specify which period has been used.
- "EHCP" means an Education, Health and Care Plan issued under section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
- "SEND Tribunal" means the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability).
- "Independent or non-maintained special school placement" means any placement funded wholly or partly by your authority under section 40 of the Children and Families Act 2014 at a school that is not maintained by your authority, including independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, and independent mainstream schools where the placement was made to meet special educational needs.
- "Conceded", in relation to a Tribunal appeal, means any case where your authority changed its position such that the appeal did not proceed to a contested final hearing. This includes cases where the contested decision was withdrawn by your authority, where settlement was reached, where the matter was resolved by any other form of pre-hearing agreement, and where the appeal was withdrawn by the parent or young person following a change in your authority's position that addressed the matters under appeal.