NEWS

Devon County Council “safety valve” deal target breach rises by 40% to £20.4m as SEND overspend reaches £51.6m

Cumulative SEND deficit now expected to peak at £227m while deal targets set to be missed every year to 2032, risking County Hall bankruptcy if government withdraws support.

Leigh Curtis

Devon County Council’s projected 2024-25 Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) overspend has risen to £51.6 million, £20.4 million more than agreed under the terms of a government “safety valve” deal to reduce the council’s ballooning SEND spending deficit.

The latest figures, presented in a report to the county council’s cabinet last week, confirm that the amount by which the council expects to miss the government-set 2024-25 overspend target has increased by a further 40% to £20.4 million.

The excess overspend had already reached £14.7 million in November after doubling between July and September last year.

The county council’s cumulative SEND deficit is now expected to peak at £227 million in 2025-26 before falling over the following six years, missing the targets set by the “safety valve” deal every year.

Bar chart of Devon County Council cumulative SEND deficit 2019-20 to 2031-32 at March 2024 with 2024-25 £20.4 million month eight excess overspend added Devon County Council cumulative SEND deficit 2019-20 to 2031-32 at March 2024 with 2024-25 £20.4 million month eight excess overspend added. Year shown is financial year end e.g. 2020 = 2019-20. 2024-25 onwards are from Devon County Council projections.

County council cabinet member for SEND services, Lois Samuel, defended County Hall’s position at last week’s meeting.

She said she had heard a government minister describe the SEND system as “broken across the country” on the radio earlier that morning.

She added that the council was under pressure from the Department of Education to clear its huge backlog of Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments, which form the basis of additional support for children with SEND.

She said £6 million of the £20.4 million excess overspend was the cost of clearing the backlog, but did not account for the remaining £14.4 million.

She also said that neighbouring councils, including Somerset and Dorset, were carrying SEND deficits that were similar to Devon’s cumulative overspend, but did not comment on whether other councils were also failing to meet their safety valve agreement targets.

What is the “safety valve” deal?

The “safety valve” deal, agreed in March last year, requires the council to rapidly reduce its cumulative SEND spending deficit from the expected 2025-26 peak to zero by 2032.

At the end of last year the county council expected its SEND deficit to reach £195 million by the end of 2024-25 before rising to £207 million in 2025-26.

The agreement with the government also requires the county council to break even on SEND spending by the end of 2025-26 and commits it to £50 million in budget cuts, the sale of £13 million of publicly-owned assets and the use of £20 million of its financial reserves.

In return the Department for Education said it would contribute a total of £95 million over nine years to 2032, the period covered by the deal.

At the same time the deal requires significant progress in improving Devon SEND services provision following numerous poor Ofsted and Care Quality Commission reports over the past six years.

The government has paused the national “safety valve” programme, with no new councils permitted to join, but current agreements, with councils including Devon County Council, remain in place.

At last week’s cabinet meeting county councillor Julian Brazil said that while he accepted the description of a broken national system, the council was “reaping what had been sown”, referring to the council’s long-standing issues with SEND provision.

He queried whether the council would be able to meet the terms of the “safety valve” deal and said he was concerned that the government would withdraw its support which would, he said, lead to it “going under”.

He added: “We would have a deficit of over £200 million. We are bankrupt if that safety valve goes under. What are we going to do to stave off this financial disaster that is coming down the road?”

Subscribe to The Exeter Digest - Exeter Observer's essential free email newsletter

Your personal information will be processed and stored in accordance with our Privacy Policy

County council chief executive Donna Manson admitted that despite additional government funding the council’s financial position “quite simply doesn’t add up”.

County finance director Angie Sinclair said that County Hall had agreed to submit a new plan to the Department for Education at the end of January outlining when it expects to break even on SEND services delivery.

She said that there was “no indication at the moment that the Department for Education is pulling out of safety valve”, despite the government announcing that the programme is paused while it reviews SEND funding following a scathing National Audit Office report.


Democracy doesn't work when people don't know who is deciding what on whose behalf and what the costs and consequences of those decisions will be.

Exeter Observer is proving that reader-funded media can deliver the independent public interest journalism our local democracy needs.

Upgrade to a paid Exeter Observer subscription to support our work and get access to exclusive premium content and more.

More stories
Illustrative floor plan of new redevelopment proposals

New Heavitree Road police station student accommodation and “co-living” complex proposals submitted to Exeter City council

Application for full planning permission for 813-room scheme in seven blocks follows decision to reject previously-proposed 955-room scheme in two blocks which was subsequently upheld at appeal.

Danny Barnes

Danny Barnes received full £15,000 Devon County Council allowance during 2024-25

Heavitree & Whipton Barton councillor failed to sign off £14,600 community grants after attending only two of fifteen public meetings and is alleged to have worked for Scottish Labour MP Imogen Walker since shortly after last year’s general elections.

, updated

Exeter cycle route E9 Wonford Road bus gate modal filter

Wonford Road modal filter bus gate to be first of five Exeter ANPR camera sites

Devon County Council will use new moving traffic offence enforcement powers to issue penalty charge notices to motorists contravening active travel, bus lane and one-way street restrictions.

Devon five-a-day fruit & vegetable consumption by district 2023-24

Exeter residents eat lowest proportion of 5-a-day fruit and vegetables in Devon with only South Hams above England average

Public health report also finds three in ten Devon residents are physically inactive and nearly two-thirds overweight with new countywide health and well-being strategy due in autumn.

Save Northbrook Pool campaigners dressed in black outside Exeter City Council's offices on 24 June 2025

Labour councillors dive deeper into denial in decision to abandon Northbrook pool

Exeter residents mourn as council suppresses destructive consequences of creating St Sidwell’s Point complex that looms in leisure service shadows like a leviathan.

Devon & Torbay Combined County Authority draft local growth plan infographic

Devon & Torbay CCA keeps quiet about 2025-35 Local Growth Plan as it takes charge of regional development agenda

Combined County Authority privately selects unspecified stakeholders to co-author document setting out strategic priorities but with little of substance to say on addressing region’s structural challenges.

On Our Radar
St Thomas churchyard

SATURDAY 19 JULY 2025

Love St Thomas Summer Festival

New community event launches with live music, talks, workshops, stalls, refreshments and family-friendly activities.

ST THOMAS CHURCHYARD

Summer at the Quayside illustration

TUESDAY 29 JULY TO FRIDAY 29 AUGUST 2025

Summer at the Quayside

A month of free family activities including weaving, felting, doodling and drumming.

EXETER QUAY

Spork! summer special

THURSDAY 31 JULY TO THURSDAY 14 AUGUST 2025

Theatre in the Park

Exeter Phoenix hosts an al fresco summer theatre season featuring Shakespeare, spoken-word poetry, puppetry and physical comedy.

ROUGEMONT GARDENS