This is the slice of a council's spending on children with special educational needs that goes to private and independent specialist schools rather than state-run ones. It matters because private placements are usually by far the most expensive option, so councils that rely on them heavily tend to run up debt fastest. A high percentage means the council depends a lot on costly private provision; a low percentage means most children are supported within the state sector.
| Council | Class | Value | In its class |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of London | london | 0.77 | 1st worst of 33 |
| Isles of Scilly | unitary | 0.7 | 1st worst of 61 |
| North Northamptonshire | unitary | 0.55 | 2nd worst of 61 |
| Barnsley | metropolitan | 0.53 | 1st worst of 36 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | unitary | 0.5 | 3rd worst of 61 |
| North East Lincolnshire | unitary | 0.48 | 4th worst of 61 |
| Cheshire East | unitary | 0.45 | 5th worst of 61 |
| Oxfordshire | county | 0.42 | 1st worst of 23 |
| Surrey | county | 0.42 | 2nd worst of 23 |
| Herefordshire, County of | unitary | 0.41 | 6th worst of 61 |
| Council | Class | Value | In its class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | metropolitan | 0.05 | 1st best of 36 |
| Nottingham | unitary | 0.07 | 1st best of 61 |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | unitary | 0.08 | 2nd best of 61 |
| Havering | london | 0.09 | 1st best of 33 |
| Tower Hamlets | london | 0.09 | 2nd best of 33 |
| Southend-on-Sea | unitary | 0.1 | 3rd best of 61 |
| Luton | unitary | 0.1 | 4th best of 61 |
| Lambeth | london | 0.11 | 3rd best of 33 |
| Gateshead | metropolitan | 0.11 | 2nd best of 36 |
| Redbridge | london | 0.11 | 4th best of 33 |
| name | hn_independent_share |
|---|---|
| dataset | 05-dsg-send-deficits |
| kind | constructed |
| type | numeric |
| unit | ratio |
| grain | local authority x financial year |
| role | feature |
| source | hn_independent / hn_expenditure_total |
| period | 2015-16 to 2024-25 |
| missingness | unknown |
| score_note | Reliance on expensive independent placements — a genuine efficiency/structure proxy. |
| calculated | ../calculated/hn-independent-share.csv |
| calculated_rows | 1518 |
| calculated_periods | 2015-16 to 2024-25 |
| calculated_date | 2026-08-13 |
| peer_group | unitaries (n=63), metropolitan boroughs (n=36), London boroughs (n=33), counties (n=26) — scored within each class against its median/IQR |
The share of a council's total high-needs spend going to independent and non-maintained special providers. A high share signals structural reliance on the most expensive placement type — a common driver of runaway DSG deficits. The denominator is itself constructed, so suppressed component lines can bias the ratio upward.