BCP Council 'insolvent' due to SEND debt, leader says
Earl said the authority had run SEND budget deficits since 2020.She said it would soon cost £7.5m a year just to service the accumulated debt.The Liberal Democrat's letter said: "We have had to consider further cuts to vital services including environmental services, play provision and support services in our most deprived communities, because this issue has not been resolved."More than half of councils had warned they would become insolvent when the system to defer payment to pay for SEND services, the statutory override, was due to end next year, she said.The deadline was later extended to 31 March 2028.Earl told the Deputy Prime Minster: "[Councils] still need to provide the cash to fund the services being provided, and it does not solve the problem of who will pick up the bill when the override ends."She proposed that the government should pick up the bill for borrowing costs on SEND spending.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached for comment.Previously the government said it had inherited a system "left on its knees".
You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Britain's Revolut in talks to raise new funding at $65 billion valuation, FT reports
July 9 (Reuters) - London-based financial technology giant Revolut is in talks to secure new funding at a valuation of $65 billion, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company is in discussions to raise about $1 billion via newly issued shares and the sale of some existing stock, the report said, adding that U.S.-based investment firm Greenoaks is in talks to lead the private funding. Revolut declined to comment on the report, while Greenoaks did not immediately respond to a Reuters request. Last year, Revolut was valued at $45 billion through a secondary share sale to new and existing investors. It has emerged as the most successful of the handful of European fintechs founded in the past decade with a digital-only model. The company in April reported a more than twofold surge in last year's pretax profit to 1.1 billion pounds and said it expected to start operating as a UK bank in 2025. ($1 = 0.7357 pounds)
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
'My support plan was my lifeline - Keir Starmer must not scrap them'
Hannah Steadman, 19, who suffers from several chronic conditions - including epilepsy and autism, delivered an open letter to the prime minister, sighed by over 10,000 people A disabled student has travelled to 10 Downing Street in her wheelchair to deliver a heartfelt open letter - signed by more than 10,000 people - to Keir Starmer asking him not to scrap EHCPs. Nineteen-year-old Hannah Steadman, who has several chronic conditions - including epilepsy and autism - tells the Prime Minister how school became so challenging she felt she 'couldn't go in any more' until her 'life changed' after getting an educational health and care plan (EHCP) two years ago. She is writing amidst fears that the government white paper, to be published in the autumn detailing reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, could see EHCPs being scrapped. She adds: 'Thanks to my EHC plan, I'm now looking to the future and planning to start a Level 3 Acting and Performance qualification at college in September. 'It is no exaggeration to say this plan completely transformed my experience of school.' Before getting her EHCP, aged 16, south Londoner Hannah tells Sir Keir: 'By this point I was at home because my school had deemed me attending a health risk and a safeguarding issue.' Describing how her plan meant she had transport, so she could get to school, how she had someone to push her wheelchair and her lessons were moved to the ground floor, making them accessible, she then tells the Prime Minister: 'I'd like to invite you to meet with me, and a group of other disabled young people, to talk about the difference an EHC plan has made to us.' Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Hannah, who is supported by the charity Ambitious About Autism, says: 'I was really excited to go to Downing Street. Knowing that 10,000 people have signed my letter feels incredible. 'When I was experiencing the worst of my issues in school it felt like no-one cared, so to know that many people are behind me is really great. 'I wanted to write this letter and to share my story, because I truly feel that having an EHCP was the thing that salvaged what was left of my education, and I want other young people to have that legal right to support too. READ MORE: British traitor fighting for Russia brags he's won a medal for 'wiping out' Ukrainians 'Without an EHCP I would never have finished school as I was too exhausted to keep pushing back and fighting to get my needs met. 'Education opens up so many doors, and every young person should have the same right to an education, and the same standard of education. For me an ECHP was the thing that helped me to achieve that. 'I don't think the government really understands the impact of what would happen if they do scrap EHCPs, and how many lives that would disrupt.' Stephen Kingdom, campaign manager for The DIsabled Children's Partnership - which represents 1.7 million children - says ECHPs are essential to ensure children with additional needs have the same opportunity as their friends to have an education. He says: 'The SEND community is not asking for anything special - we are simply fighting for an ordinary education, an ordinary commute to school and a seat in a classroom where a child can learn.'
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Sandbanks property developer closes after Labour's tax raid
A property developer in the exclusive coastal resort of Sandbanks has closed, blaming Labour's policies. Richard Carr said tax rises had ruined the second home market in the Dorset town, leaving him no choice but to shut. Fortitudo, which sold a single plot in Poole for £16 million in November last year, has ceased trading in the high-end property market, closing its website and clearing out its offices. A different part of the business will continue to sell commercial property, including roadside retail and student accommodation Mr Carr, the chief executive, described the current economic climate as 'absolutely terrible for developers'. He said he could not sell 'anything' after the Government allowed local councils to charge double council tax for second homes. This power was introduced by the Conservatives in 2023 as part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act and came into effect in April this year. Since April 1, the Lib Dem-led Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council has made use of the power. Celebrity residents The average property price in the 0.39-sq-mile peninsula crossing Poole Harbour was £1.73 million over the past year, making it one of the most expensive places in the world to buy a house. Well-known former residents include Liam Gallagher and Harry Redknapp. Mr Carr said: 'Residential property is very, very difficult to sell, particularly high-end property, and so we have decided to shut the businesses as it was. We closed it because we just can't sell anything, can't make any money. 'If you talk to estate agents – we had nine properties on, ranging from £1.4 million to £2.8 million – and there are just no buyers. The only way you could sell them was by heavily discounting them. 'Labour have brought in double rates on second homes. A lot of homes in Sandbanks are second homes so all of a sudden that second home market has all but evaporated.' Mr Carr said some ongoing Fortitudo projects had been handed to another developer to complete, while he would finish others himself. He added: 'We all know there's tax rises coming again in November and there's a real lack of confidence in the market. I see no light at the end of the tunnel...' Wealth tax 'could create brain drain' Mr Carr said a potential wealth tax would worsen the situation by leading to a 'brain drain' in which wealthy entrepreneurs would leave the country. Speculation that Labour might bring in such a tax has been mounting after Lord Kinnock suggested the Government was 'willing to explore ' the option. The party's former leader said a 2 per cent tax on assets worth more than £10 million could raise £10 billion a year for the Treasury, prompting some of Labour's union paymasters to back the idea. On Monday, a No 10 spokesman refused to rule out the idea of a new levy on wealthy taxpayers. Mr Carr's two previous companies, Future 3000 and Ravine Lifestyle, collapsed in 2008 and he was declared personally bankrupt. He was prevented from becoming a company director again for 10 years without a court's permission. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have been approached for comment.
