Clarity is needed over the future of a mechanism currently keeping SEND deficits from bankrupting councils, a government adviser has warned, adding its impending end 鈥渄ominates” thinking about reform. Dame Christine Lenehan was appointed as ministers’ 鈥渟trategic adviser鈥 on SEND last week. She will play a 鈥渁 key role in engaging the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families鈥. Speaking at the County Councils Network today, Lenehan said 鈥渃larity鈥 was needed on the statutory override, which has allowed councils to keep the deficits off their books, but is due to expire in March 2026. It was introduced by the previous government but there was no update in chancellor Rachel Reeve鈥檚 budget last month on how Labour plans to proceed. This is despite the National Audit Office warning that four in 10 councils may be at risk of declaring effective bankruptcy when the override ends. Lenehan said: 鈥淢y worry for that is it just dominates thinking. It stops us being creative, it stops us thinking what we need to do. All we think about is what鈥檚 going to happen鈥 I鈥檓 not saying I know what that will be, but I’m saying it鈥檚 important we actually take it head on.鈥 ‘Fear factor about reform’ Lenehan, former director of the Council for Disabled Children, urged the government to 鈥渁rticulate鈥n absolute clear vision about where we want to go to and how within that clear vision we take the different parties along the way鈥. Academy trust boss to lead new school inclusion expert panel She said government 鈥済ets it, they know the crisis鈥 but 鈥渨hat I think holds people back is what鈥檚 the end state?鈥 Part of her role with ministers, she said, is 鈥渢o tell them to be brave鈥. Speaking to an audience of councillors, she said: 鈥淭he reason for that is I鈥檝e worked with people like you for years, with your director of children鈥檚 services, with your people and as members in particular you have also told me of the anger of parents, of the despair of parents and in some cases in some of the work that we have been doing, the sheer vitriol of parents.鈥 Lenehan said she didn’t 鈥渂lame parents鈥, as she would also want 鈥渢he very best for them鈥 if she was a parent of a child with SEND. But she warned there was a 鈥渇ear factor on reform鈥. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a fear factor that the minute we start to say 鈥榳e are going forward鈥 there will be backlash. 鈥淭here will be parents who say ‘you鈥檙e taking our children鈥檚 rights away’. There will be schools who say ‘you鈥檙e not interested in attainment anymore’.” She said it was 鈥減art of the role of everyone to hold consensus, and to me that鈥檚 going to be the key”. Rising EHCPs ‘not good for children’ But Lenehan warned “we cannot get to a point in a SEND system where we are approaching 20 per cent of children needing” statutory education, health and care plans (EHCPs). Currently, 4.8 per cent of pupils in schools have an EHCP, but numbers are expected to double by 2032 without policy interventions. It is not clear when Lenehan expected numbers to near 20 per cent. “That is actually not good for children and it鈥檚 not good for the system. It鈥檚 that lack of early years support and intervention, that understanding of that whole school pathway.” She also said government would need to set out “what do we expect an inclusive mainstream school to do with the right support in the right place? What do we expect out of special schools? “What role if any does the independent and non-maintained sector play – what does it look like? Can we stand back from the noise and understand the system?” Ministers also appointed Tom Rees, chief executive at Ormiston Academies Trust, who will lead an expert group to advise ministers on improving mainstream inclusivity.