Unite has today (10 February) responded to the news that the government will cover special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deficits - a significant write off for local councils worth £5billion.

Rising demand for SEND support has left councils struggling to balance budgets and racking up large deficits. The government will now write off 90 per of these historic deficits up to 2025-26.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This is a step in the right direction for local authority funding and proves that austerity is a political choice - debts can and should be written off to allow councils to flourish.

"Council workers and communities are still bearing the brunt of years of funding freezes. The money saved by this decision must not only go back into improving services, but also into the hands of council workers who have had years of real-terms pay cuts."

Unite has been campaigning for council debts to be written off by the government through its Fair Funding Now for Local Government campaign. UK local authorities were £122 billion in debt as of 2024, with government lenders charging higher rates of interest, leaving councils making huge cuts, issuing Section 114 notices and relying on declining reserves to stay afloat.

Unite has recently launched a video on the Fair Funding campaign, featuring Unite reps from local authorities around the UK talking about how cuts have devastated local services. The union is also launching a postcard campaign to MPs, calling on them to support the Fair Funding action.

Unite national officer for local authorities Clare Keogh said: "Unite welcomes this decision by the government, which is a positive step.

"However, there is still a long way to go to undo the damage of years of austerity and cuts to local council services. The government needs to build on this decision to write off debts more widely across the sector and increase funding to match need.

"Unless local government funding is urgently restructured, including by offering councils debt relief, cuts to jobs and services will continue."

ENDS

For media enquiries ONLY please contact Unite press officer Natasha Wynarczyk on 07970081524

Email: natasha.wynarczyk@unitetheunion.org