Dispute over £450,000 'missing' SEND funds amid anger
Emma Eveleigh, who lives in Needham Market with her two disabled children, carried out a freedom of information request to Suffolk County Council.
It showed that the number of family service staff members in the SEND department had reduced from 78 in April 2023 to 73 members in April 2025.
This comes after the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that £450,000 had been allocated to increase the family services team on February 2024.
Mrs Eveleigh, who is also a Campaign For Change member, noted that the data also shows that the five new staff added since last year were "only temporary members".
Emma Eveleigh and her husband Chris have two special needs children. (Image: Emma Eveleigh) Meanwhile, opposing data brought forward by Suffolk County Council presents that the full SEND team has increased from 100 to 164 members in the three years, while they say role allocation is "complex".
However, Mrs Everleigh said: "This is a distraction aimed at muddying the waters.
"Where has the money gone? That's the real question.
"They've promised us it's going into the family service, but it clearly hasn't.
"It makes you feel really misled, angry and despondent
"Nothing's really improving."
She added that she repeatedly contacted the deputy cabinet member for SEND, Deborah Richardson, about the issue, but she ignored her questions and deleted Facebook comments.
Councillor Andrew Reid, Cabinet member for Education and SEND at Suffolk County Council. (Image: Suffolk County Council) Andrew Reid, cabinet member for education and SEND at Suffolk County Council, said: 'I strongly refute the claim of financial mismanagement – we remain a financially well-run council, despite exceptional demand challenges in Children and Young People Services.
'Over the last year, we have spent £136million on delivering SEND services.
"This spend includes improving how we deliver services and employing more staff.
'SEND reform is incredibly complex and in desperate need of Government redesign across all local authorities."
Steven Wright, father and member of Campaign for Change (Image: Steven Wright)
Steven Wright, father of two disabled children in East Bergholt and another campaigner, also argues the services have been "poorly managed".
He added that his recent Freedom of Information request for an audit report on the department's finances was rejected, amid concerns of "financial mismanagement".
This is after a recent audit report for 2023/2024 outlined a "risk of significant weakness" in the value for money category for Suffolk's SEND services.
He said: "We're constantly told that there's not enough money, but then sometimes it looks as if the funding they do have doesn't seem to be managed properly."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Dispute over £450,000 'missing' SEND funds amid anger
Parents of disabled children in Suffolk say £450,000 of SEND funding has gone missing as a dispute with the council has led them to ask: "Where has the money gone?" Emma Eveleigh, who lives in Needham Market with her two disabled children, carried out a freedom of information request to Suffolk County Council. It showed that the number of family service staff members in the SEND department had reduced from 78 in April 2023 to 73 members in April 2025. This comes after the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that £450,000 had been allocated to increase the family services team on February 2024. Mrs Eveleigh, who is also a Campaign For Change member, noted that the data also shows that the five new staff added since last year were "only temporary members". Emma Eveleigh and her husband Chris have two special needs children. (Image: Emma Eveleigh) Meanwhile, opposing data brought forward by Suffolk County Council presents that the full SEND team has increased from 100 to 164 members in the three years, while they say role allocation is "complex". However, Mrs Everleigh said: "This is a distraction aimed at muddying the waters. "Where has the money gone? That's the real question. "They've promised us it's going into the family service, but it clearly hasn't. "It makes you feel really misled, angry and despondent "Nothing's really improving." She added that she repeatedly contacted the deputy cabinet member for SEND, Deborah Richardson, about the issue, but she ignored her questions and deleted Facebook comments. Councillor Andrew Reid, Cabinet member for Education and SEND at Suffolk County Council. (Image: Suffolk County Council) Andrew Reid, cabinet member for education and SEND at Suffolk County Council, said: 'I strongly refute the claim of financial mismanagement – we remain a financially well-run council, despite exceptional demand challenges in Children and Young People Services. 'Over the last year, we have spent £136million on delivering SEND services. "This spend includes improving how we deliver services and employing more staff. 'SEND reform is incredibly complex and in desperate need of Government redesign across all local authorities." Steven Wright, father and member of Campaign for Change (Image: Steven Wright) Steven Wright, father of two disabled children in East Bergholt and another campaigner, also argues the services have been "poorly managed". He added that his recent Freedom of Information request for an audit report on the department's finances was rejected, amid concerns of "financial mismanagement". This is after a recent audit report for 2023/2024 outlined a "risk of significant weakness" in the value for money category for Suffolk's SEND services. He said: "We're constantly told that there's not enough money, but then sometimes it looks as if the funding they do have doesn't seem to be managed properly."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
MP calls out council over bus pass changes for visually impaired
An MP has called for an urgent reversal of cuts to bus pass enhancements for visually impaired residents. Liz Jarvis, MP for Eastleigh, has written to the leader of Hampshire County Council, highlighting the serious impact on independence and mobility caused by the withdrawal of discretionary "top-up" enhancements to bus passes. During a visit to the Guide Dogs Community Team Centre in Chandler's Ford, Ms Jarvis met with visually impaired constituents and discussed their daily challenges. The main issue raised was the reduction in free bus travel hours and the removal of the Companion Bus Pass. READ MORE: Eastleigh MP calls for profit cap on private SEND providers Visually impaired residents in Hampshire had previously been able to travel free of charge before 9.30am and with a companion when needed. Ms Jarvis said: "Public transport is a lifeline for elderly and disabled people. "Limiting access to buses not only affects their ability to attend medical appointments, work, and education, but also increases social isolation." She called for the council to rethink the cuts.
New York Post
11-08-2025
- New York Post
Prince Andrew ‘annoyed' by lack of royal status, has no future: author
Prince Andrew has no future within the royal fold and is 'annoyed' over the lack of his royal status, according to a prominent author. The disgraced Duke of York, 65, is reportedly still licking his wounds three years on from being stripped of his royal and military titles, as well as patronages. According to author Andrew Lownie, who details various tidbits about the scandal-scarred prince in his latest biography, 'Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,' the duke doesn't have a bright future regarding his royal and private life. 4 Prince Andrew has no future within the royal fold and is 'annoyed' over the lack of his royal status, according to a prominent author. Mirrorpix / MEGA What's more, Lownie claims that Andrew — who had recently won his yearslong fight to stay at the Royal Lodge — is already 'living the life of a retired man.' 'I don't think he has any public future. I would say his private future is pretty limited, too,' Lownie told Sky News. 'I mean, he lives in Royal Lodge, he plays golf, watches TV, and presumably sees his grandchildren … he's living the life of a retired man.' Lownie added that one palace staffer claimed that Andrew had been most affected by the stripping of his titles. 'What most annoys him is his lack of a royal status. That's what really sort of gave him his whole sense of identity,' he told the outlet. 4 The disgraced Duke of York, 65, is reportedly still licking his wounds three years on from being stripped of his royal and military titles, as well as patronages. Getty Images 'And that's, you know, it's not being able to put on his uniforms and strut around and being self-important.' Andrew's status within the royal fold quickly disappeared following his many controversies — including his close association with late convicted pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein, the sexual abuse lawsuit filed against him by the late Virginia Giuffre and his links to alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo. The late Queen Elizabeth II stripped her son of his military titles and royal patronages, as well as his HRH title, in 2022. He was also forced to give up his role as a working royal. 4 Lownie claims that Andrew is already 'living the life of a retired man.' Getty Images Shortly after losing his HRH titles and military honors, Andrew's Freedom of the City of York honor was also taken away following a historic vote by councilors. Elsewhere, Lownie has called for 'more accountability from the royal family and more transparency' after claiming there was a lot of secrecy behind closed doors during the research stage of his book. The royal author spent four years writing his latest book, and submitted hundreds of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to government departments. Follow The Post's royal family live blog for the latest pics, news, exclusive details and more However, Lownie claims that his applications regarding Prince Andrew and his work bounced back for reasons unknown. 'Clearly there are details that people have picked up on and run with. And you know, that's inevitable in these sort of books,' he told the outlet. 4 The late Queen Elizabeth II stripped her son of his military titles and royal patronages, as well as his HRH title, in 2022. Getty Images 'If they're to earn our trust and support, they have to show that they are not hiding things — that they are behaving well.' 'They blame everything from security reasons, to cost and man hours, to data protection, to my questions being too broad,' Lownie added. The Post has reached out to Andrew's reps and Buckingham Palace for comment.
