Council is advised that a petition with 2,279 valid signatures has been received from Mr Adam Sofianos requesting that:
“We the undersigned petition the council to REJECT the Government’s Safety Valve project.
STOP Safety Valve. SUPPORT our children. SUPPORT our schools.
What’s happening?
Safety Valve is a controversial Government schools project, which
forces councils to make drastic cuts in support for children with
special educational needs & disabilities (SEND). BCP Council
has been selected as a 2024 entrant, and
is expected to sign a binding contract in March. The best chance to
stop this is to raise public awareness and demand a council
vote.
What would this mean for SEND children and
families?
SEND support is NOT a golden ticket or a free pass. It just offers
a child a chance to better access education and improve their
lives.
But the objective of Safety Valve is to reduce the amount spent on
SEND, by cutting the support delivered to children. For BCP this
includes slashing new plans by 50%, pushing up to 90% of new plans
into mainstream schools, and making further cuts to support for
children aged 16+.
What about the effect on schools?
The BCP proposal could mean taking money from schools.
Considerations include cutting 11% from the main schools
budget, and raiding the reserves of
well-run schools. This would have a terrible domino effect, and would push many schools closer to
insolvency.
Is this legal?
All councils are obliged by law to deliver statutory SEND services.
Almost all councils are struggling to uphold this duty already.
Nationally, councils lose 98% of all SEND tribunal cases.
But Safety Valve doesn’t change the law. In fact, it would
make BCP more exposed to legal challenges than ever
before.
Why is this even happening?
The Government has been under-funding SEND services for years, and
a deficit has been growing in all councils. It’s now so big
that it could push many councils into insolvency by 2026.
But rather than increase funding, or make schools policy more
inclusive, the Government is using Safety Valve to force councils
to slash support for some of our most vulnerable children. This
could affect thousands of struggling BCP families.
Ironically, Safety Valve won’t even solve the financial
issues. The deficit is too big. There are other solutions, but
nothing can happen until after the election. For now, we need to
hang on.
What can we do about it?
Sign this petition! By doing so, we together demand that BCP
leaders agree to hold a Full Council debate and vote on Safety
Valve. And if the Council votes to reject it, that decision must be
binding.
STOP Safety Valve. SUPPORT our children. SUPPORT our schools.”
In accordance with the Constitution a petition with 2,000 + signatures will be referred for debate at a meeting of full Council. The Council is asked to consider the petition and to determine next steps.
Notice of Motion in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 in relation to this matter
The following motion submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules has been proposed by Councillor Patrick Canavan and seconded by Councillor Peter Cooper.
BCP Council notes that:
(i) Like most Local Authorities, the Council is accumulating a considerable deficit on its Dedicated Schools Budget, expected to reach £63.4m at the end of this financial year.
(ii) The statutory override is scheduled to expire in March 2026.
(iii) The Council has been invited by the Department for Education to join the Safety Valve programme.
BCP Council believes that:
(iv) Safety Valve could result in an agenda of severe reductions in SEND services.
(v) Safety Valve could put schools at risk, with the potential requirement for funding transfers and excess-balance clawbacks to close in-year deficits.
(vi) The likely effect on young people and their families in BCP would be unacceptable.
BCP Council resolves to:
(a) Ensure that this Council is able to debate and consider any contract or arrangement regarding the possible application of Safety Valve prior to this being agreed;
(b) Ask the Leader and/or Chief Executive of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, seeking an urgent extension to the statutory override, to give local authorities time and space to address the crisis in SEND funding and services;
(c) Ask the Leader and/or Chief Executive of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Education, expressing the urgent need for additional funding (or deficit write-off) for all local authorities;
(d) Ask the Leader and/or Chief Executive of the Council to write to the Chair and/or Chief Executive of the Local Government Association, expressing the urgent need for local authorities to demand together that the Government supports local authorities through this crisis, to avoid unnecessary insolvencies without punishing vulnerable families.
Minutes:
Consideration was given to a petition calling for BCP Council to reject the Government’s Safety Valve project, with the following as justification:
“STOP Safety Valve. SUPPORT our children. SUPPORT our schools.
What’s happening?
Safety Valve is a controversial Government schools project, which forces councils to make drastic cuts in support for children with special educational needs & disabilities (SEND). BCP Council has been selected as a 2024 entrant, and is expected to sign a binding contract in March. The best chance to stop this is to raise public awareness and demand a council vote.
What would this mean for SEND children and families?
SEND support is NOT a golden ticket or a free pass. It just offers a child a chance to better access education and improve their lives.
But the objective of Safety Valve is to reduce the amount spent on SEND, by cutting the support delivered to children. For BCP this includes slashing new plans by 50%, pushing up to 90% of new plans into mainstream schools, and making further cuts to support for children aged 16+.
What about the effect on schools?
The BCP proposal could mean taking money from schools. Considerations include cutting 11% from the main schools budget, and raiding the reserves of well-run schools. This would have a terrible domino effect, and would push many schools closer to insolvency.
Is this legal?
All councils are obliged by law to deliver statutory SEND services. Almost all councils are struggling to uphold this duty already. Nationally, councils lose 98% of all SEND tribunal cases.
But Safety Valve doesn’t change the law. In fact, it would make BCP more exposed to legal challenges than ever before.
Why is this even happening?
The Government has been under-funding SEND services for years, and a deficit has been growing in all councils. It’s now so big that it could push many councils into insolvency by 2026.
But rather than increase funding, or make schools policy more inclusive, the Government is using Safety Valve to force councils to slash support for some of our most vulnerable children. This could affect thousands of struggling BCP families.
Ironically, Safety Valve won’t even solve the financial issues. The deficit is too big. There are other solutions, but nothing can happen until after the election. For now, we need to hang on.”
The petition organiser, Mr Adam Sofianos, provided Council with background relating to the submitted petition and reported that the petition was the most signed petition in BCP Council history.
Members sought clarity from Mr Sofianos on a number of points.
Cllr P Canavan moved a motion regarding the Safety Valve, seconded by Cllr P Cooper, requesting that BCP Council resolves to:
(a) Ensure that this Council is able to debate and consider any contract or arrangement regarding the possible application of Safety Valve prior to this being agreed;
(b) Ask the Leader and/or Chief Executive of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, seeking an urgent extension to the statutory override, to give local authorities time and space to address the crisis in SEND funding and services;
(c) Ask the Leader and/or Chief Executive of the Council to write to theSecretary of State for Education, expressing the urgent need for additional funding (or deficit write-off) for all local authorities;
(d) Ask the Leader and/or Chief Executive of the Council to write to the Chair and/or Chief Executive of the Local Government Association, expressing the urgent need for local authorities to demand together that the Government supports local authorities through this crisis, to avoid unnecessary insolvencies without punishing vulnerable families.
Council debated the petition and motion and it was:
RESOLVED: That BCP Council resolves to:
(a) Ensure that this Council is able to debate and consider any
contract or arrangement regarding the possible application of
Safety Valve prior to this being agreed;
(b) Ask the Leader and/or Chief Executive of the Council to write to
the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities, seeking an urgent extension to the statutory
override, to give local authorities time and space to address the
crisis in SEND funding and services;
(c) Ask the Leader and/or Chief Executive of the Council to write to
the Secretary of State for Education, expressing the urgent need
for additional funding (or deficit write-off) for all local authorities;
(d) Ask the Leader and/or Chief Executive of the Council to write to
the Chair and/or Chief Executive of the Local Government
Association, expressing the urgent need for local authorities to
demand together that the Government supports local authorities
through this crisis, to avoid unnecessary insolvencies without
punishing vulnerable families.
Voting: Nem.Con.