The projected in-year deficit for Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) spending at the City of Doncaster Council will be nearly £20million at the end of 2025/26, reports show.

Doncaster Council will spend £19.1m more than budgeted from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) High Needs Block in 2025/26 – a £2m increase on the deficit projected after quarter one of the financial year.

Comparatively, the in-year DSG deficit in neighbouring Rotherham, considered one of Doncaster’s “statistical neighbours”, is £3.3m.

A statutory override, extended into 2028 by the government, means the DSG is “effectively ringfenced”, a report to Mayor Ros Jones’ cabinet said.

placeholder image — Doncaster Civic Office | LDRS

It means DSG expenditure does not currently count against local authorities’ general budgets, but will once the override ends in 2028.

Rising DSG expenditure is a national concern, with the total overspend across the country projected to reach £5billion by 2025/26, the Local Government Association has said.

Doncaster Council officials have projected the in-year DSG overspend in Doncaster will reach £31m in just two years’ time, after which the Government will integrate SEND spending into the department for education’s budgets.

However, the recent budget did not include any hints of how local authorities will be expected to deal with their accumulated DSG costs.

The council’s finance report projected accumulated DSG costs will reach £116.7m in Doncaster alone by the end of 2027/28, more than doubling the projected £56m for the end of 2025/26.

Doncaster Council did not respond to request for comment from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.