Council spends almost £160,000 a year on ferrying ONE child with special needs to school - as transport costs spiral to more than £1.5bn
East Sussex forked out the astonishing sum in 2024 amid a huge spike in the cost of transport to specialist Send schools, which hit £1.5billion for the country last year.
Data obtained by the Liberal Democrats using the freedom of information act showed that Milton Keynes Council also spent a six-figure sum - £113,000 - on transport - for one child.
It comes as Labour faces demands to get a grip on the spiralling bill - but also pressure from already militant backbenchers who have vowed to fight any cuts.
Data released last month showed the number of children with education, health and care (EHC) plans - which allow them to access funding for transport - surged by 10 per cent in the year to January.
Just over £1.5billion was earmarked for transporting S pupils aged up to 16 in 2024-25. That was up from £1.2billion the previous year - and around three times the level from 2017-18.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey called for more Send schools to be built as part of a general increase in capacity to cut overall costs, rather than reducing EHCs.
'Parents of children with special educational needs are fighting a broken system that doesn't provide the support they need. If the Government thinks the answer to the crisis is to roll back children's rights, they're totally missing the point,' he said.
'After years of Conservative underfunding and neglect, too many children aren't getting the support they need at school and councils are having to shell out for expensive private provision.'
East Sussex Council has been approached to comment.
A report by the Local Government Association (LGA) earlier this month predicted the transport cost will rise to £1.97 billion in 2025/26.
There has also been a rise in children being placed in schools far from their homes due to local ones being full, the report said.
And some children may also have more 'complex' needs, requiring 'individualised' transport.
According to separate Government figures, the number of pupils with EHCPs is now 482,640 – the highest figure on record – and double the number in 2016.
Many of these children are disabled, or need a specific special needs school, necessitating the state paying for transport.
In addition, some children without Send are eligible if they live far away from their nearest school or are on a low income.
Ministers have failed to rule out slashing education plans for children and young people with special educational needs, after campaigners warned against the move.
Education minister Stephen Morgan insisted parents should have 'absolutely' no fear that support for children with special needs or disabilities will be scaled back.
But he could not guarantee that the current system of education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which are issued to give children specialist classroom support, would remain in place.
In a letter shared with the Guardian newspaper, campaigners have said that without the documents in mainstream schools, 'many thousands of children risk being denied vital provision, or losing access to education altogether'.
On Monday, Mr Morgan told broadcaster LBC the current system of support is 'failing children, it's failing parents'.
Asked if concerned campaigners could have no fear that Send support will be scaled back, Mr Morgan replied: 'Absolutely. What we want to do is make sure we've got a better system in place as a result of the reform that we're doing that improves outcomes for children with additional needs.'
But pressed whether the reforms could include scrapping ECHPs, Mr Morgan replied: 'We're looking at all things in the round.
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