Norfolk's Audit and Governance Committee has agreed to seek a fuller picture of the financial pressures facing the council's Special Educational Needs and Disabilities service, after members flagged concerns about demand growth and overspending.

The decision was made at the committee's meeting on 28 July 2026, when members drawing up their future work programme identified SEND as an area requiring closer scrutiny in relation to the council's risk register.

Committee members asked for information covering both the drivers pushing up demand for SEND support and the resulting pressure on the budget. Officers suggested the matter could be incorporated into existing risk management reporting or brought back to the committee in a separate format.

The Chair will work with officers to determine how and when the information will be presented. No specific figures on the current level of overspend were discussed at the meeting.

SEND funding pressures have been a growing challenge for councils across England, with local authorities frequently reporting that the cost of providing support to children with special educational needs and disabilities is outstripping the funding available from central government.

The committee also agreed to request an update on the council's response to its external auditor's assurance gap analysis, and a review of governance arrangements for the county's planned reorganisation into three new unitary authorities by April 2028.