Wirral Council has seen a huge increase in the number of children requiring support in school since the COVID-19 pandemic, newly released data from the Taxpayer’s Alliance shows.
The data shows that in 2024/25, 7.01% of children in Wirral aged 4-10 had Education and Health Care Plans (EHCP). This is an increase of 145%, up from 2.86% in 2019/20.
Similarly, for children aged 11-18 on EHCPs, the figure was 4.42% in 2019/2020. However, in 2024/25, that figure had risen to 8.01%, an increase of 81%.
This data comes as the government revealed its new long-term strategy for SEND provision in the UK.
On Monday, the Department for Education announced that it would be making reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities system for children.
Their reforms include introducing something called an Individual Support Plan (ISP), which will be a digital record of a child’s needs and what day-to-day support a child will have.
They are also changing the way EHCPs are allocated. Under this new system, only children with “complex” cases will be given a full EHCP as well as an ISP.
Bridget Phillipson MP, the Education Secretary, said: “These reforms are a watershed moment for a generation of young people and generations to come, and a major milestone in this government’s mission to make sure opportunity is for each and every child.”
However, Cllr Chris Carubia, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats on Wirral Council and a campaigner for children’s welfare, said of the Government’s plan: “My concerns about some of this stuff is that it is not very well thought through.”
Mr Carubia, who is is the vice chair of the Children, Young People and Education Committee on Wirral Council, continued: “There are so many holes in it, for me.”
“For instance, EHCPs, they’re saying only the top level of disability will have an EHCP.”
Referring to the Taxpayer’s Alliance data about Wirral Council, Cllr Carubia said that the rising need for support plans is “not sustainable in the current system”. He said that since the pandemic, he has seen a rise in the number of ECHP applications in the ward he represents.
However, he also raised concerns that if parents who do not receive the support they expect decide to take their child’s case to a tribunal, then tribunals rule in their favour, that risks undoing these reforms.
The funding for the proposals, the government says, includes £1.6billion over the next three years to allow for schools and other settings to proactively plan for and to meet common needs that do not require formal diagnoses.
There will also be a £1.8billion investment over the next three years to improve access to health professionals including speech therapists and educational psychologists.
Elliot Keck, Campaigns Director for the Taxpayer’s Alliance, said: “”Councils are facing financial catastrophe if the government is unable to get control of some of their statutory obligations, particularly in SEND provision.”
The Taxpayer’s Alliance is a pressure group that supports small government and lower taxes.
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