Council leaders in the north of England have written to the chancellor and the education secretary in an appeal for more cash in the next spending review, for children with special needs.
They say that children’s services are under severe pressure with councils in Yorkshire and the Humber spending nearly £86m more than they received in funding over the four years since 2014.
Money has been taken from schools, which are already under pressure, in order to plug the gap, they say.
The councils blame the failure of the government to make new money available while increasing the demands on councils through the introduction of Education and Health Care Plans in 2014.
The number of children and young people with plans has increased by 46% across the region since the reform was introduced.
