Families take Surrey council to court over special needs funding

A group of children and their parents have gone to the high court to try to quash a decision by their local council to cut more than £21m from its special educational needs and disabilities (Send) budget.The public gallery of court three in the Royal Courts of Justice in London was packed with children, parents and supporters on Tuesday as an application for judicial review got under way to assess the legality of Surrey county council’s decision.The claim has been brought by five Surrey children with special educational needs and their mothers, and paid for by a crowdfunding appeal that is being replicated in other areas of the country that are also facing potential cuts to Send provision.