The financial threat hanging over English councils, as a result of the last government’s decision to mask special needs overspending with an accounting ruse, is made plain in a Guardian investigation that used freedom of information requests to dig into their accounts. How ministers plan to deal with the £5.2bn debt that will reappear on balance sheets in a year – having been temporarily hidden by the Conservatives – is unknown. But doing nothing is not an option.

The alarming mismatch between the steeply rising need for special education and the budgets allocated to pay for it is one of the biggest challenges facing the government – with at least 18 councils at risk of insolvency. For families caught in the middle, the consequences can be devastating. Children waiting years for autism and other assessments, or for suitable placements, have their lives placed on hold. A system of grants that was meant to support councils to redesign services, and reduce spending, has mostly failed.

There is no short answer to the question of what went wrong. But reforms brought in under David Cameron are responsible for pitting families........

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