SERVICES for the most needy children are buckling council leaders have warned as they made an urgent appeal for more cash from the government.

They say while systems to help children and young people with special needs and disabilities have improved the burden on funding them has stayed with local authorities who are already struggling under massive austerity budget cuts.

North Yorkshire County Council , along with other authority's have written to both the Chancellor and the Secretary for Education calling on them to ensure a full funding increase is a top priority for the next spending review.

They reveal there's been an unprecedented demand with council's across Yorkshire and Humberside overspending by £42 million on special needs and budgets. This year £32m will be used from savings to plug the gap along with £10m from already struggling school budgets.

The council's say this crisis has developed because the Government introduced reforms in 2014 supporting children and young people with special educational needs through new Education and Health Care Plans, increasing the age range and demands on budgets, without increasing the money available.

The numbers of children and young people with Plans has increased by 46 per cent across the region. In the four years since 2014 councils regionally spent nearly £86m more than they received in funding from the Government. This meant they drew on their reserves by over £44m with nearly £42m taken off mainstream schools budgets.

The Leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Councillor Carl Les said they welcome the reforms and improved support and recognition for children and young people with special education needs and disabilities but urgently need the Government to meet the demand for funding.

He said: "Unless the Government agrees in the spending review to fund special educational needs provision fully, council overspending in this area will increase further and become totally unsustainable. The system will buckle.

"We are diverting money urgently needed for other vital services as well as seeking to move money from mainstream schools when they are already struggling with their budgets. This cannot go on."