White paper will seek to address huge deficits in special schooling budgets as councils face bankruptcy

• ‘A ticking time bomb’: the neglected crisis of Send education in England

Labour is preparing major changes to special educational needs provision in English schools, as individual councils raise the alarm over debts running into hundreds of millions of pounds that have pushed many to the brink of bankruptcy.

A Guardian analysis has found the vast majority of English upper-tier councils have accumulated often eye-watering special educational needs spending deficits. At least 12 have forecast accumulated deficits over £100m, running as high as £312m, when the debts have to be settled in a year’s time.

Some councils have raised concerns over profiteering amid frustration over huge fees charged by private specialist schools, which can charge between £50,000 and £100,000 per place, typically two to three times the cost of state provision.

Tensions between headteachers and councils over attempts by the latter to shift millions of pounds from local school budgets to ease high needs deficits. Some schools have warned such moves would force them to sack Send support staff.

Attempts to rein in local Send demand and spending via “safety valve” initiatives at 42 councils have largely failed, with most failing to hit savings targets on time, despite receiving government grants running into tens of millions of pounds.