Almost half of council budgets are being swallowed up by spending on special needs children and social care, figures show.
In 2025-26, the average share of budgeted local authority spending committed to adult social care and children’s services was 47 per cent, compared to 30 per cent 10 years ago, according to the Daily Telegraph.
By contrast, spending on fixing potholes, mowing lawns, painting and other “beautification” projects had fallen by 16.5 per cent since 2021-22, according to the TaxPayers’ Alliance.
The campaign group said deficits associated with special educational needs and development (SEND) had soared to £6bn nationally.
It added that the growing financial burden of statutory services was crowding out visible, day-to-day services that residents relied on, binding local authorities with a “statutory spending straitjacket”.
Blackpool, North Somerset and Stoke-on-Trent budgeted the largest share of their total service expenditure on adult social care and children’s services in 2025-26, at 54.9 per cent, 52 per cent and 50.5 per cent. In 2015-16, the figures were significantly lower, at 38.3 per cent, 31 per cent and 29.6 per cent.
Across England, the average share of local authority spending committed to children’s services rose from 11 per cent in 2015-16 to 18 per cent in 2025-26. Blackpool, Stoke and Redcar and Cleveland devoted the highest proportion of their budgets to children’s services in 2025-26 – 26.2 per cent, 25 per cent and 24.7 per cent.
From 2015-16 to 2023-24, the average share of local authority spending committed to Send increased from 1.7 per cent to 2.8 per cent. Thurrock, Calderdale and Dorset committed the largest share of their total services budget to Send in 2023-24, at 7.8 per cent, 7.1 per cent and 5.4 per cent.
(Picture: Yay Images)
