I'm a parent carer Education, Health and Care Plans and SEND under 5's Personal budgets

Personal budgets

Page Updated: 9th October 2020

A Personal Budget is an amount of money identified by the local authority to deliver parts of the provision set out in your Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. It gives you the flexibility to choose which services and support you may need. The money is not the total of all that is available to support a child or young person. For example, it does not include the cost of the school place or existing targeted support provided by a school, such as additional learning support.

"Our aim is to enable all children to achieve their potential and enjoy happy and fulfilled lives"

Amendments to personal budget and direct payments

Please note that the original regulations about requests for an education personal budget and direct payment arrangements were amended in August 2014 by the government.

Further explanation:

West Sussex Local Authority is guided by the Special Education Needs (personal budgets and direct payment) regulations which have been laid before Parliament in June 2014 and are now in force;
These regulations particularly clarify the obligations of responding to requests for an education personal budget and direct payment arrangement.
View the “2014 No. 1652 Education, England, The Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations”
In August 2014 the statutory regulations received a small amendment which was passed which made it clear that where funding could not be dis-aggregated then the council was not obliged to offer these elements of funding as a personal budget. The main amendment reads:

4A.—(1) For the purposes of section 49(2), the particular provision to be secured by an amount identified in a personal budget does not include provision that is specified, or proposed to be specified, in an EHC plan (the “specified provision”)— (a) which the local authority secures, or proposes to secure, under arrangements within the meaning of paragraph (2); and (b) where the conditions in paragraph (3) apply. (2) “Arrangements” for the purposes of this regulation means any arrangements between the local authority and a third party under which the local authority pays an aggregate sum for special educational provision which includes the specified provision. (3) The conditions are that— (a) the aggregate sum paid by the local authority under the arrangements includes a notional amount for the specified provision; and (b) the notional amount cannot be disaggregated from the aggregate sum because the disaggregation— (i) would have an adverse impact on other services provided or arranged by the local authority for children or young people with an EHC plan; or (ii) would not be an efficient use of the local authority’s resources.”

The full Amendment is named as 2014 No. 2096 Education, England