Rulebook · Decision or problem
The council refused a personal budget or direct payments
A personal budget is an amount of money the council identifies to pay for some of the help in the plan. If asked, the council must prepare one. In limited cases it can refuse to include some help, or refuse direct payments. These refusals cannot be appealed to the Tribunal. A refusal of direct payments for special educational provision must be explained and looked at again on request. Complaint, the Ombudsman and judicial review are open.
A council that maintains a plan, or is preparing one, must prepare a personal budget if the parent or young person asks. The provision itself, in section F, can still be appealed when the plan is issued or amended. Only the budget or payment decision cannot. The Code of Practice says the plan must include the details of any personal budget, and that they should be set out in Section J. The Regulations require Section J to show the needs and outcomes that any direct payment for special educational provision will meet.
Appeal right: this is not one of the matters that can be appealed to the SEND Tribunal (Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(2)). See the routes.
Ways to take this further
Listed in the order the rules give them. The order is not a ranking.
- Talk to the council: a meeting, or asking for reasons in writing
- Formal complaint to the council
- Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
- Judicial review (after a pre-action letter)
- Disagreement resolution service
- Type of rule
- Law (Act or Regulations)This is the law, set by an Act of Parliament or by Regulations.
- Rule id
issue.personal_budget_refused- Rules version
- england-2026.10
- Law as at
- 30 September 2026
Sources
- Children and Families Act 2014, s 49Law (Act or Regulations)
- Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014, reg 4ALaw (Act or Regulations)
- Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014, reg 6(1)(c)Law (Act or Regulations)
- Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014, reg 6(1)(d)Law (Act or Regulations)
- Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014, reg 7Law (Act or Regulations)
- SEND Code of Practice 2015, para 9.107Code of Practice: must (restates the law)
- Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(2)Law (Act or Regulations)
- Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(2)(c)Law (Act or Regulations)
- Children and Families Act 2014, s 51(3)Law (Act or Regulations)
- SEND Code of Practice 2015, para 9.62Code of Practice: must (restates the law)
- SEND Code of Practice 2015, Section J row, para 9.69Code of Practice: should (follow unless there is a good reason not to)
- SEND Regulations 2014, reg 12(1)(j)Law (Act or Regulations)
- SEND Code of Practice 2015, Section J row (direct payments), para 9.69Code of Practice: must (restates the law)
Related
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