A RYEDALE MP is lobbying for extra resources for children’s services in North Yorkshire, describing them as being under “significant financial pressure”.

This year, North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) overspent by £11 million on children’s services - much of which, Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton says, is attributable to extra responsibilities given to the authority by Westminster.

The Children and Family Act 2014 introduced Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which raised the expectations for what councils would need to do to support children with special educational needs. Mr Hollinrake says the money was based on an historic formula that is not keeping pace with rising demand; each EHCP costs £8,000, leading to an overspend of over £6m.

Following a meeting with education secretary Damien Hinds, Mr Hollinrake said: “North Yorkshire is the 12th lowest funded authority on a per pupil basis out of 150 for high needs. At my meeting, I pressed the Secretary of State to update the formula and see a fairer amount of funding allocated to my constituency.”

Demand for EHCPs has increased from 1,747 in 2014/15 to 2,550 at the end of 2017, and forecasts show this increasing further still.

Mr Hollinrake said the benefits of this are “enormous”, as “diagnoses are better honed and life expectancy has increased for those with complex needs”.

Richard Flinton, chief executive of NYCC, said: “Funding to support young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities should be based on an up-to-date assessment of need and not an out-of-date historic formula that is currently the situation.

“Without more funding from central government we run the risk of having to reduce other services to meet these costs.”