The special educational needs and disabilities system for children in England faces "total collapse" and the government must not "keep ducking" reforms, council leaders have warned.

The County Councils Network, which represents some of England's largest local authorities, said councils had deficits which will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of this parliament in 2029, as they struggled to cope with increased demand.

The government has put off planned reforms to the SEND system until next year, and a white paper setting out those reforms was delayed recently.

But ministers face pressure from Labour MPs who warn there would be political danger in watering down support for children.

The number of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) - the legal document entitling children to support from local authorities - have increased, according to the Department for Education.

There were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January 2025, up 10.8% on the same point last year. The number of new plans which started during 2024 also grew by 15.8% on the previous year, to 97,747.

The County Councils Network (CCN) says one in every 20 children in England could end up needing this kind of support by the end of the decade.

Councils have a statutory duty to provide support to children with an EHCP, depending on what the document outlines.

The CCN also says demand for EHCPs alone is not the only factor driving spiralling expenditure, with "over-reliance on higher costs placements and special provision" also a factor, including "expensive private school places".

There are now record numbers of pupils in special schools. In England, there are around 194,000 pupils, compared with 109,000 in 2014/15 according to the CNN.

The CCN has projected that councils could be spending £8bn on these placements by the end of the decade.

While the government wrestles with provision for children, many families continue to struggle.

Amanda Quick, who has a 12-year-old son with ADHD and autism, really appreciates the support at her local Taunton café, set up specifically for parents to bring their children with special educational needs.

Amanda's son Ezra attends a specialist school, but Amanda says she had a long fight with their local authority in Somerset to get him the support he needs.

"My mental health took a hit. I couldn't cope with all the paperwork so I ended up getting a solicitor, which is about £200 an hour," she said.

Claire Naylor, who owns the café, said she felt "dismissed" in trying to get support for her six-year-old son MJ, who has non-verbal autism.

"The EHCP process became a real fight and a real battle to get those provisions put in place. We ended up having to go to court which took us over a year," she says.

"We had to spend thousands of pounds on private reports just to prove what we already knew.

"We needed him to fail to be able to prove [he needed support] which is a really really sad way of basically being heard and it affected a whole family. We lost friendships, we've lost a lot of money and a lot of time."

Budget deficits

The CCN has called for the council deficits incurred by SEND provision to be written off and for changes to the law to focus EHCPs on those "most in need".

Councillor Bill Revans, Lib Dem leader of Somerset County Council and SEND spokesman for the CCN, said spiralling demand is fuelling the crisis and better inclusion in mainstream schools should be a priority.

"The whole system needs looking at, including EHCPs," he said.

"That pressure is unsustainable and it will make the system collapse within this parliament.

"All councils that have responsibility for special educational needs and disabilities carry a deficit on their budget which isn't included on their accounts.

"We will have no way of paying that off unless there is a solution from government."

But changing EHCPs is a political battleground and campaigners have warned against watering down legal protections for families.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has refused to say whether the government would change or abolish EHCPs.

Labour chair of the Education Select Committee, Helen Hayes, has joined campaigners saying this entitlement must stay in place.

Rachel Filmer, a parent of children with special educational needs, set up Save our Children's Rights campaign in direct response to the government refusing to commit to these plans.

"Without [EHCPs] children have no legal right to any support so things could be catastrophic," she said.

Keeping EHCPs in place but diluting them into a more generalised format that offers less tailored support is also a concern amongst campaigners, and some MPs have suggested the delay to the government's reforms are due to tension over whether to change or scrap these plans.

One said the pushback to changes to EHCPs would be "serious and significant" and would endanger already low levels of trust families have.

The Conservatives have said the delay in publishing the white paper had been "seriously damaging".

Tory MP Saqib Bhatti said: "SEND provision is vital to so many children and that's why we all need the government to get its reforms right."

He added: "Speculation that the government may scrap EHCPs has caused further anxiety to families that already face a struggle to get their children the support they need."

Reform UK are expected to set out its own plans for the SEND system soon.

The party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, recently suggested some parents were "abusing" the system – limiting support for those in "genuine need".

Phillipson favours an approach of earlier intervention, something that is welcomed by campaigners and MPs.

Schools Minister Georgia Gould, who recently inherited the SEND brief, has been visiting constituencies on a "listening" tour exercise.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government inherited a SEND system "on its knees".

"We're determined to put that right by improving mainstream inclusion so every child can thrive at their local school," they said.

"We've held over 100 listening sessions with families and will continue engaging parents as we deliver reform through the Schools White Paper."

Phillipson has had praise from MPs for being accessible and ready to hear their thoughts, and they point to this as evidence that Downing Street has learned lessons from the summer, when numerous Labour MPs rebelled against the government's proposed cuts to welfare.

Ministers favour setting up more specialist provision in mainstream schools, but MPs have warned that there cannot be a half-hearted approach to giving schools and councils what they need.

"If SEND reform is about saving dough rather than improving the system then it's not headed in the right direction," said Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan.

Labour MP Rachael Maskell said that if the upcoming budget does not show that the government is adequately equipping schools and councils - such as increased workforce funding for roles such as speech therapists, health visitors and physiotherapists - then she will not be supporting reforms.

And Jen Craft, a Labour MP who has a disabled daughter, says the approach of groups like the CCN may not be the right one.

"I don't think you should be coming at it from a position of these children, these families cost too much money," she said.

Writing off billions in council deficits would be challenging for a government already facing what's widely expected to be a difficult budget, with warnings about the existing pressure on public finances.

Ministers have signalled that reform of the SEND system will focus on increasing and improving inclusive mainstream provision and early intervention, but that would require extra resource for schools.

Either way it is a challenge ministers are trying to carefully navigate, conscious of the consequences if they don't get this right.

When Rebecca Middleton became pregnant, she had no idea that she would end up in a wheelchair for the final three months before she gave birth.

Rebecca had had a difficult first trimester dealing with nausea and sickness, and began to develop pelvic pain four months into her pregnancy.

"I could hardly walk, I'd always had some problems with lower back pain in my life. But nothing that significant and it escalated quite quickly," she says.

After complaining about the pain, she was referred to an NHS physio, and eventually diagnosed with an extreme case of pelvic girdle pain (PGP), also known as symphysis pubic dysfunction.

Problems with your pelvic joints are a common symptom of pregnancy, affecting one in five expectant mothers to some degree.

"I was terrified, would I ever walk again? How would I have my baby, how would I care for it?"

After giving birth, Rebecca was in less pain, but she still struggled with basic things like walking, lifting her son or pushing a pram.

"I was disabled for seven months and had to have someone helping me all the time," she says.

"I just couldn't do the things that you should be able to do in looking after a baby, it was a really challenging time."

Prior to becoming pregnant, it was an issue Rebecca was unaware of and since her experience she volunteers for The Pelvic Partnership, a charity which helps raise awareness and support women with this condition.

It says the condition is treatable with the right action.

As soon as your symptoms start, the charity advises you get hands-on individualised treatment, including manual therapy, and ask for a referral for NHS physiotherapy from your GP or midwife.

If you aren't offered this support initially, the charity suggests going back to your GP or midwife and asking for a second opinion.

They can also refer you to maternal mental health support to help you manage the emotional impacts of living with PGP.

Dr Nighat Arif, a women's health specialist, says higher awareness and early assessment could prevent patients like Rebecca needing wheelchairs or crutches.

"Without that early identification based on a really good understanding of the female body, we leave some of these women with negative effects for life," she says.

Gynaecologist Dr Christine Ekechi says the lack of research around the condition means it is less likely to be identified and suitably treated, particularly post birth.

"We don't necessarily see them unless they then come back into a gynaecology clinic presenting with pain.

"So we don't have a great understanding as to the proportion of women that have persisting pain that has started off during pregnancy."

Victoria Roberton, co-ordinator at the Pelvic Partnership, is an example of how awareness can help.

Like Rebecca, she didn't know what PGP was when she began experiencing the condition during her first pregnancy.

She tried to stay as active as possible as advised and was referred to NHS physio sessions online and by phone, but found the pain worsening as her pregnancy progressed.

"They gave us exercises, stretches to do. By this point I couldn't do any of them. It was too painful," she says.

It got to the point where even sitting became uncomfortable for Victoria, and she was largely homebound until her baby was born.

The pain lessened after the birth of her daughter, but she began experiencing the same problem when she became pregnant with her second child.

It's not an option for many mothers, but Victoria said given her medical history she decided to pay for a private physio as the NHS wait for referral was long.

The physio gave her a full assessment and hands-on treatment including joint mobilisation, and taught her different ways to move her body to not aggravate her hip joints, which helped ease the pain.

Victoria still struggles with a degree of PGP today, four years on, but her second pregnancy was much easier to manage because she understood her condition and how to handle it.

Rebecca's second pregnancy has been similarly a much more positive experience.

This time round she knew she was at risk of PGP and was able to have it treated throughout her pregnancy before it became debilitating.

She has made a full recovery from PGP, just two months post birth compared to two years for her first child.

"I'm probably in better shape now than I was before either of my children because I now know what caused that pelvic girdle pain, and have had it fully treated and resolved with manual therapy," she says.

"It was five years of hell because of the pain I was in because of a lack of knowledge and understanding about the subject."

Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has denied committing crimes against humanity during a deadly crackdown on last year's uprising that ousted her, days before the special tribunal trying her is due to deliver a verdict.

Hasina is accused of being the main architect behind hundreds of killings during the mass protests against her autocratic rule - an allegation she denies.

In her first interview with the BBC since she fled the country on 5 August 2024, she said her trial in absentia was a "farce" orchestrated by a "kangaroo court" controlled by political opponents.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Hasina if she is found guilty on Monday.

Hasina claimed the trial was destined to deliver a "pre-ordained guilty verdict".

Security has been tightened in and around the tribunal in the capital Dhaka ahead of Monday's verdict.

It will mark a significant moment for the country as well as for the relatives of those killed during the student-led anti-government protests that ousted Hasina.

UN human rights investigators have said up to 1,400 people were killed when Hasina and her government used systematic, deadly violence against protesters in the failed bid to hold onto power.

The former prime minister has refused to return from India to attend the trial.

She has been accused of personally ordering security forces to fire at protesters in the weeks before she fled.

In an email interview, Hasina told the BBC she "categorically" denied such allegations.

"I'm not denying that the situation got out of control, nor that many lives were lost needlessly. But I never issued any order to fire on unarmed civilians," she said.

Leaked audio of one of her phone calls verified by BBC Eye earlier this year suggested that she had authorised the use of "lethal weapons" in July 2024. The audio was played in court during the trial.

Hasina was formally indicted along with two others in July this year. They are former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for the former, who is in hiding. The latter pleaded guilty in July but has not been handed a sentence.

Speaking about the trial, Hasina said she hadn't been able to defend herself or appoint her own lawyers.

She added her political opponents had gone after her in an attempt to "liquidate" her Awami League party as a political force.

Lawyers representing her issued a statement on Monday saying they had filed an urgent appeal to the UN raising serious fair trial and due process issues at the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh.

The Awami League is already banned from standing in general elections due in February.

The BBC interview also covered other serious allegations of abuses committed during Hasina's 15-year rule, which will be heard in another case at the special tribunal. Hasina denies charges of crimes against humanity in that case too.

After Hasina was ousted from power, a number of secret jails were discovered holding prisoners who had been detained for years without any legal process. Many other critics and opponents of Hasina who had been abducted or held in these prisons are alleged to have been killed unlawfully.

Asked who was responsible for this, Hasina said she "did not have knowledge" of them.

She also denied her involvement in alleged extra-judicial killings and disappearances, which rights group say she was responsible for as the head of government during her leadership.

"This is denied in terms of my own involvement, but if there is evidence of abuse by officials, let us have it examined properly in an impartial, depoliticised process," she said.

Hasina and other senior members of her former government are also facing trial for corruption in a separate court, charges they deny.

Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.

Members of the House of Lords have put forward more than 900 proposed changes to the law to deliver assisted dying, ahead of a debate on Friday.

Experts believe the number of amendments, which is understood to be 942, is unprecedented, but opponents say significant alterations are needed to ensure any scheme can operate safely.

The volume of amendments has sparked a letter from 65 supportive peers to their colleagues in the Lords, raising concern about possible delaying tactics.

Those opposing the bill have been urged not to "frustrate" the passage of the legislation, which has already gained the approval of MPs.

The House of Commons passed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in June, and it passed its first stage in the Lords in September.

The required line-by-line examination of the bill that follows was delayed, following an amendment by Labour's Baroness Berger to allow a committee of peers to scrutinise the legislation further.

Parliament heard officials worked into the early hours of Thursday morning to compile the suggested changes to the bill that flooded in ahead of the next scrutiny stage, known as committee stage, which begins on Friday.

There appear to be seven opponents to the bill who have submitted 579 amendments between them.

According to the parliamentary authorities, while some bills have had more amendments tabled in total at committee stage, it sets a possible record for the number submitted in the first full list of suggested changes.

They say it is almost certainly unprecedented for the committee stage of this type of bill, known as a private member's bill, which has been put forward by backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater rather than the government.

Experts including Matthew England, a researcher at the Hansard Society, said the number of amendments "does appear to be a record, at least in the recent past".

Others drew comparisons to the bill to take the UK out of the European Union, which had 820 amendments in total.

'Genuine improvements'

A peer in favour of the legislation told the BBC that the number of amendments "looks like a delaying tactic to me... It's obviously not a coincidence."

Defending the volume of amendments, Baroness Luciana Berger, who opposes assisted dying, told the BBC that evidence to the select committee "strongly refuted any suggestion this bill is either safe or workable".

"This bill is full of holes which vulnerable people will fall through and be harmed if peers don't act to change and amend it," she added.

However, signatories to the letter highlighted how the bill had "already undergone unprecedented scrutiny" and "offers dying people the choice of a safe, dignified end while strengthening protections for the vulnerable".

Former Royal College of Nursing president Baroness Rafferty was among the 65 peers to have signed, and she was joined by scientist and broadcaster Lord Winston, former Labour leader Lord Kinnock and former Whitehall chief Lord O'Donnell.

They urged opponents to focus on refining the bill to find where "genuine improvements can be made, while respecting both the will of the Commons and the overwhelming support of the public".

In response to the letter, a source close to peers who are concerned about the bill said: "This letter is making claims directly contradicted by the evidence provided in the last few weeks at the Lords select committee by the royal colleges, professionals and independent statutory bodies.

"Evidence and facts are vital when crafting good legislation."

The bill is being treated by parties as a matter of conscience, meaning they will not instruct their MPs or peers how to vote.

The bill will become law in England and Wales only if both the House of Commons and House of Lords agree on the final drafting of the legislation - with approval needed before spring next year, when the current session of Parliament ends.

If it does pass into law, the government has four years in which to get an assisted dying service into place, meaning it could be 2029/30 before the first assisted death happens.

The legislation proposes allowing terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death.

This would be subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, a senior legal figure and a psychiatrist.

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

The Metropolitan Police is investigating "tens" of group-based child sexual abuse cases involving what could be described as grooming gangs, the force's commissioner has said.

An initial data search identified around 9,000 historic cases that might fall under the broad national criteria, but after reviewing 2,200 of them only about 1,200 remained in scope, Sir Mark Rowley told the London Assembly.

The commissioner warned against using "grooming gangs" as a catch-all term because offending includes abuse within families, in institutions, between peers and online.

He said the ethnicities of suspects varied and are "reflective of the diversity we see in the city".

During Thursday's meeting, the police commissioner set out details of a national review of child exploitation cases, which has prompted recent political debate.

Sir Mark said a data search had initially identified about 9,000 historic cases in London that might fall under a national definition of group-based sexual offending, which includes any case with two or more suspects and at least one victim.

He also said that figure had been widely misinterpreted as 9,000 grooming gang cases and had led to "unbalanced reporting".

He said the definition used by the national audit was far broader than the public understanding of grooming gangs and covered intra-familial offending, institutional abuse, peer-on-peer cases and online exploitation.

'Simplistic analysis'

He told the assembly that after reviewing 2,200 of the 9,000 cases, around 1,200 remained in scope and that the number would continue to fall as the work progressed.

The commissioner said that once the initial assessment was complete, the Met expected "maybe 2,000 or 3,000 cases" to be considered for possible reinvestigation, but stressed this would still cover a wide mix of offending types, not solely grooming gangs.

"We do not see the typology reported elsewhere where there have been cases of offending committed by groups of Pakistani men on white British children being the sole or majority case," added Sir Mark.

He also said the Met recorded around 2,000 sexual offences a month, about half of which involved child sexual abuse, and warned that managing current cases alongside historic ones would require extra funding and specialist officers.

"It is important for us to use precise language and consider its impact on victims and public understanding. There is too much ready reach to simplistic analysis which risks misleading communities," he said.

Sir Mark's comments came during a meeting in which London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan was accused of "taking the mickey" out of victims after previously saying there was "no indication of grooming gangs" operating in the capital.

Susan Hall, Conservative group leader, said: "In January, I asked if we had grooming gangs in London. You dismissed my question by pretending you didn't know what I meant."

Sir Sadiq responded by clarifying "what is meant by grooming gangs", according to the national inquiry announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June, and outlined the support provided to victims.

The mayor told the assembly that London had "issues in relation to child sexual exploitation" and "child sexual abuse", but that these cases were different to those seen elsewhere in England.

"I've led efforts to strengthen the protection of children and those exploited by abuse and exploitation," he said.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Kobi Crolla is not yet 18 months old but he has spent almost all his life in hospital as medics treat him for severe brain damage.

In that time he has suffered countless seizures and endured 17 operations, while his parents have had to give up their jobs to care for him full-time.

Now his mother Kirsty Grandison, 35, is charting their experience on TikTok in a bid to help other parents of sick children in hospital.

"We used to feel like we were the only parent's going through this," she said

"There was no-one online making videos where we could go for advice, so I started making videos to show life in hospital in a bid to help other people."

Her TikTok page has 34,000 followers and receives up to 40 private messages a day.

Kobi was born 10 weeks prematurely at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh on 17 July 2024.

Despite weighing just 3lb 3oz, his parents initially thought he was doing well.

However, that night doctors "came pouring" into his hospital room in Edinburgh as his tiny lung had collapsed and he had stopped breathing.

Then Kirsty, 35, and her partner Daniel Crolla, 38, received the news "that changed everything" - Kobi had had a grade four brain bleed, the most severe kind.

They were told he would not have any quality of life and they should prepare for the worst and call their family to say their goodbyes.

Against all odds, Kobi pulled through and eight "agonising" days later, they finally got their first cuddle with their son, which felt like a "miracle".

But his parents said his "battles kept coming" with Kobi developing meningitis and each day bringing a new fear with blood transfusions, lumbar punctures and scans.

"He was having up to 10 seizures a day. We were always panicked, always so scared for him. We still are," said Kirsty.

Kobi was diagnosed with hydrocephalus that causes a dangerous build-up of fluid on the brain.

The only option was brain surgery, to install a shunt to allow fluid to be drained from the brain - since then, Kobi has endured 16 surgeries.

"That's 16 times we've handed him over, not knowing if he'd come back," Kirsty said.

Both Daniel, a bus driver, and Kirsty, a carer, have given up their jobs to care full-time for their son.

And Kirsty is using her TikTok page - Kobi The Brave - to give followers a glimpse into the reality of life in a sick kids' unit.

She shows where she buys specially-adapted vests to fit around his feeding tube, how to clean his feeding peg, showing them medicines and setting up Kobi's feeding pump and changing his bed.

"I get messages from other parents in neonatal saying my videos are getting them through and how it's making them not give up hope because they have seen how far Kobi has come from my videos and how well he does despite what he's been through," Kirsty said.

"I want to take all these followers on this journey as I know how many it can help."

Kirsty said caring for Kobi was the "greatest privilege in the world" but it was exhausting, relentless and a lonely journey.

She plans to continue documenting Kobi's story in a bid to help other parents know there are other people going through a similar experience.

"We don't remember the last time we felt at ease, content," Kirsty said.

"We used to have little bits of ourselves outside all this - football, the gym. Now, we go days without having a shower. Sometimes, you wish someone would ask, 'But how are you?'"

Kirsty and her two children from a previous relationship live in Prestonpans, East Lothian, with Daniel, who has three children.

They take it in turns to stay in the hospital with Kobi day and night.

"We've grieved the life we thought we'd have with Kobi," Kirsty said.

"It's hard not to feel jealous sometimes. You see people worrying about hand prints on the walls or toys all over the floor. We'd give anything for that kind of normal."

'Flight or fight mode'

Now the family are hoping they can have their "cheeky and determined" Kobi at home with them for Christmas, away from the beeping machines and clinical smells of hospital.

"We will be on edge worrying and thinking what might go wrong," said Daniel

"His head can double in size instantaneously and we have to rush him back to hospital, you see all the veins in his head and it's like a balloon.

"It's very traumatic and we are constantly in a fight or flight mode.

"But when the fear feels overwhelming, his smile pulls us back.

"As a family, we can count on one hand the number of days we've had out together.

"That's all we want - more time, more chances to make memories."

The family are being helped with the hidden costs of hospital life by the Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity.

Pippa Johnston, deputy chief executive officer at Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity, said Daniel and Kirsty had shown "so much courage and resilience in the face of such unimaginable hardship and uncertainty".

"While many people will be heading home to be with their loved ones, the sad reality is that many children like Kobi, and their families, will spend the festive season in hospital," she said.

"No-one should feel like they're facing hospital alone, especially at Christmas.

"Alongside our friends in the NHS, we'll be there to bring reassurance, comfort and unexpected moments of joy when they're need most."

This week, the US government shutdown finally ended after a record 43 days, the BBC's director general and head of news resigned, and I'm A Celebrity... announced changes to its bushtucker trials.

But how much attention did you pay to what else happened in the world over the past seven days?

Quiz collated by Ben Fell.

Fancy testing your memory? Try last week's quiz, or have a go at something from the archives.