1. Have you sought, or are you seeking, to reduce the use of post-16 independent specialist provision as part of your safety valve agreement with the government to reduce your high needs costs over time?
Our Safety Valve agreement does seek to reduce reliance on independent and non-maintained specialist provision and independent specialist provision in the post-16 age range and we will achieve this by ensuring we commission the right provision to meet needs locally.

2. Please can you explain what measures you are putting in place to help you achieve the required (SEND) cost savings when it comes to post-16?
We are increasing investment in maintained specialist provision for students aged 16-25 locally to increase capacity and widen the diversity of the pathways on offer. We were awarded additional high needs capital funding by the DfE in 2023 and we are in the process of finalising our SEND Capital programme setting out how this money will be invested; £2.7m is earmarked for post 16 provision in our Medium Term Financial Plan, but exactly which projects this will fund is yet to be determined. This process includes a SEND needs analysis alongside mapping of all existing provision and development of our commissioning intentions and our SEND Sufficiency Plan, which will be published alongside our wider Local Area SEND Strategy in April / May 2024.

3. Assuming that you keep a corporate risk register, what is the current risk that your council will not be able to deliver on its statutory responsibilities in relation to children and young people with SEND?
There is no corporate risk registered against it.

4. Has this risk rating increased in the last 12 months? If the answer is yes, by how much has it increased?
No

5. Is there a consequent risk that the council might have to declare a section 114 notice in the next three years because it is unable to balance its books, partly driven by the escalating costs of children and young people and SEND budgets?
Not at present.