Council bosses’ Safety Valve SEND bailout from the Department of Education has gone tits-up in less than a year.

The story was that it would eliminate the SEND budget deficit by 2029/30 in exchange for cuts to services. Recent news to the council’s education committee is that the deficit is expected to reach £41.5m by 2030!

Meaning the city ends up with brutal cuts to SEND services and a huge deficit.