Devon County Council has welcomed the Government’s announcement that it will fund 90 per cent of local authorities’ historic Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) deficits.

The move is expected to provide significant financial relief after years of rising demand and costs in SEND services, during which councils have faced mounting pressures within a system increasingly reliant on local council tax.

The authority said the funding would help stabilise its SEND finances and allow more of Devon’s own resources to be directed towards improving frontline support and outcomes for children and young people.

Councillor James Buczkowski, the council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, described the announcement as “a very welcome” and “major step forward”. He said it would give the authority greater financial stability in SEND and enable it to focus more resources on improving support for children and young people.

While the council welcomed the commitment, it warned that wider financial pressures remain, particularly in adult social care, children’s services and the cost of delivering services across a large and predominantly rural county.

Cllr Buczkowski said councils had faced rising demand for years while the balance of funding shifted “away from national government and onto local taxpayers”. He said the Government’s decision would relieve some of that pressure in SEND, calling it “good news for families across Devon”.

He added that the authority would now work through the detail of the announcement but said it placed the council in a stronger position ahead of setting its 2026 budget, with a focus on supporting children and protecting vital services.

The council will assess the full implications of the funding as part of its budget-setting process. The draft 2026–27 budget will be considered by Cabinet on Tuesday, 17 February, before going to Full Council for formal approval on Tuesday, 24 February.