Cambridgeshire council ranked among worst for children's care plans

Summarised from Cambridgeshire Live's report · Updated 19 Oct, 20:14 · Archive

Cambridgeshire County Council has been ranked 142nd out of 148 local authorities for providing education, health and care plans (EHCPs) to children with special needs within the required 20-week deadline. A Freedom of Information request revealed the council faces an active backlog of around 1,800 cases. In the 2025/26 financial year, 93.33 per cent of plans were issued after the deadline, with some children waiting as long as 150 weeks – nearly three years – for the support they are entitled to receive.

Labour councillors who submitted the FOI request have called for a review. Cllr Alex Bulat said that case workers are being asked to manage up to 500 cases each, two and a half times the regional average. Independent councillor Elliot Tong described a child waiting three years for support as 'absolutely abhorrent'. Council leader Lucy Nethsingha amended a motion to remove references to the FOI figures, leading to accusations from opposition members of politicising the issue. Conservative group leader Ross Martin said the Liberal Democrats were 'trying to blame everyone but themselves'.

Read the report

• Cambridgeshire council among worst for delivering care plans to childrenCambridgeshire County Council was ranked near last for delivering education, health and care plans within the designated deadlineCambridgeshire Live · 19 Oct, 18:00

In this story: Cambridgeshire County Council · Alex Bulat · Bryony Goodliffe · Elliot Tong · Lucy Nethsingha · Ross Martin · Cambridgeshire

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