Labour’s ‘woeful’ settlements having worrying impact on SEN provision

Poor local government settlements for many of Wales’ rural areas are having a devastating impact on Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision, according to the Welsh Conservatives.

New figures show that budgeted gross expenditure on Special Educational Needs provision is falling – for 2016/17 – by 7.7% in Isle of Anglesey, 5.5% in Powys, 4% in Carmarthenshire and 2.8% in Ceredigion.

Those are all areas among the worst hit by the Welsh Government’s local government settlement, with Ceredigion and Powys hit with a 3% cut in allocated funding, Anglesey a 2% cut, and Carmarthenshire a 1% cut.

Shadow Secretary for Education and Children, Darren Millar AM said:

“Clearly, the woeful settlements delivered by Labour Ministers to rural local authorities in recent years affairs is having an impact on services for vulnerable children.

“We need a much greater focus on support pupils with special educational needs from the Welsh Labour-led Government, and greater leadership at a local level.

“However, progress in this vital area will be hampered until poor funding settlements for rural councils is addressed.”

Janet Finch-Saunders AM, Shadow Secretary for Local Government, added:

“These worrying figures emphasise the impact of Labour’s approach to local government funding – a tough deal for many rural areas is placing core services under threat.

“A fundamental review of the formula is long overdue, and the evidence is mounting against the unfair nature of Labour’s current approach.”