| SPOTLIGHT |
A judicial review is to be heard in December over the lawfulness of a decision by Bristol City Council to enter into a ‘safety valve’ agreement with the Department for Education.
The claimants were granted permission to apply for judicial review at a hearing last week (27 September) on the ground that there was a failure to consult by the council.
Safety valve agreements (SVAs) are written agreements by individual local authorities with the Department for Education (DfE), agreeing that the DfE will “bail out” local authorities that have over-spent on their special educational needs budgets.
In exchange for financial assistance, local authorities are asked to agree to a plan which will eventually return them to a point where their spending is within budget.
In March this year, Bristol announced it will receive £53.79m over a period of seven years to address its historic dedicated schools grant (DSG) deficit.
Posting on LinkedIn, Steve Broach KC of 39 Essex Chambers said: “My client is very concerned that the agreement will necessarily result in cuts to expenditure on SEND provision.
“There will now be a full hearing in December 2024, on the question of whether Bristol was required to consult before entering into the agreement under section 27 of the Children Act 2014.”
This comes after a similar claim was issued against Devon County Council. The legal grounds of claim, issued on 11 June 2024, include that the council’s decision to enter into the safety valve agreement was ‘irrational’ and that it breached section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which requires public bodies to consider the impact of any decision on people with protected characteristics, including disabled people.
Cllr Christine Townsend, Chair of the Children and Young People Committee at Bristol City Council, said: “We are aware that the Safety Valve contract signed by the previous Labour Mayoral led administration has been granted judicial review. As this matter is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on the specifics of the case at this time.
“We remain committed to ensuring that SEND provision in Bristol is sustainable and can meet the needs of children, young people, and their families.”
Lottie Winson
