The Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision for personal budgets under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 for children and young people with special educational needs, for whom the local authority maintains an EHC plan.

Regulation 3 requires a local authority to make arrangements to ensure information, advice and support is available in relation to personal budgets.

Regulation 4 sets out when a request for a personal budget or direct payments may be made by the child's parent or the young person.

Regulation 5 sets out to whom direct payments may be made and the criteria which must be considered by the local authority when considering the appropriateness of the intended recipient.

Regulation 6 sets out the criteria which must be satisfied before the local authority can make direct payments.

When a local authority decides not to make direct payments, regulation 7 requires the local authority to provide the written reasons for its decision and to provide the child's parent or young person with a right to ask the local authority to review the decision.

When making direct payments, regulation 8 requires the local authority to provide written notice to the recipient, setting out the details of how the direct payments will secure the agreed provision and any conditions in relation to direct payments.

Regulation 9 provides that a local authority cannot make direct payments in respect provision which will take place in a school or post-16 institution or early years provider, without the written consent of the head teacher or person who holds an equivalent role.

Regulation 10 requires the local authority to ensure that the amount of direct payments is adequate to secure the agreed provision. The local authority may adjust the direct payments to ensure this.

Once the local authority has decided to make direct payments, regulation 11 sets out when the arrangements must be reviewed by the local authority and what must happen during a review.

Regulation 12 specifies what the local authority should do when it is looking at reducing the amount of direct payments. This includes a requirement for the local authority to provide notice to the recipient before decreasing the payments and providing the recipient with the right to ask the local authority to reconsider the decision.

Regulation 13 provides that a local authority may require direct payments to be repaid. Where the local authority decides to recover all or part of the direct payments it must provide written notice of its decision and advise the recipient of their right to ask the local authority to reconsider its decision.

Regulation 14 sets out the circumstances where a local authority must stop making direct payments, and states what happens to rights or liabilities which are incurred by the recipient because direct payments have stopped.

Regulation 15 specifies what happens when a child, in respect of whom direct payments are being made, becomes a young person.

Regulation 16 makes provision where a parent or young person lacks capacity.

No regulatory impact assessment has been prepared for these Regulations as there is no impact on the private and voluntary sector. An Explanatory Memorandum is available alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.