County council sanctioned in dozens of SEND appeals, FoI request reveals

The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by Chris Coghlan, the Liberal Democrat MP for Dorking and Horley, who accused the authority of "wrecking children's lives", according to the BBC.

The council said the notices were issued during a period of “exceptionally high demand”, when around 725 tribunal cases were open.

Out of the 38 cases in which notices were issued, most were resolved or withdrawn, with four resulting in the council being fully barred from hearings.

According to the local authority, feedback from other local authorities and families suggests that barring notices are “becoming more common” nationally.

Helyn Clack, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning said: “To reduce delays and build capacity, the council has recruited additional staff, restructured its tribunals team, and significantly expanded the Mediation and Dispute Resolution (MADRO) team, which resolved 93% of cases before tribunal between January and December 2025.

“Surrey currently has around 675 open SEND tribunal appeals, and while the priority is always to meet children’s needs without escalation, tribunals can be necessary when needs are complex and provision is difficult to secure.

“Although barring notices can never be fully eliminated, our ongoing investment and process improvements are intended to support earlier resolution and reduce the number of cases progressing to tribunal.”

Last month, the Government set out an increased role for mediation of disputes about special educational needs, with the SEND Tribunal remaining “as a genuine last resort” but no longer with the power to name the placement for the child.

Consultation paper SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First, envisages improvements to complaints and mediation processes, “so disagreements are resolved faster and more collaboratively, reducing the need for an appeal to the SEND Tribunal”.

Lottie Winson