Special Educational Needs: support in England
An overview of the current system of support for children and young people with special educational needs, and pressure on the system. Updated with new 2024-25 SEND incidence and EHC plan data

How has the balance and make-up of university income and expenditure changed over time, particularly since 2012?
Higher education finance statistics (339 KB , PDF)
This briefing paper will no longer be updated. It has been superseded by Higher education finances and funding in England |
After many years of annual increases in increased income and expenditure, more staff and more students, the higher education sector in England (especially) faced a much less certain financial environment from 2012. There was on ongoing fall in income from the public sector, falling numbers of some types of students, particularly those studying part-time, uncertainty about EU students, staff and funding and much less certainty in general about the future make-up and nature of the sector as a whole.
Many of the changes introduced in 2012 are now fully incorporated in into the sector, at least at the aggregate level. The recent Augar Review of post 18 education and funding made a large number of recommendations that would directly affect higher education institutions in England These include:
This note gives a short factual background on changes in income, expenditure and staffing since the sector took its present form in the mid-1990s. It also gives some information on variations between institutions. It includes data on all Higher Education Institutions in the UK.
The following Library notes give information on related topics:
Much of the pre-2017/18 information in this note is taken from the annual Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publications Resources of higher education institutions and its replacement. HE Finance Plus Detailed free information for recent years can be found on the HESA website.
The most recent Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education from Universities UK looks at 10 year trends in the sector and variations between institutions on a number of different indicators. The Office for Students publishes an annual financial assessment of the sector in England. The latest version is Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England.
The following Library notes give information on related topics:
Much of the information in this note is taken from the annual Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publications Resources of higher education institutions and its recent replacements. A limited amount of free information can be found on the HESA website.
The most recent Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education from Universities UK looks at 10 year trends in the sector and variations between institutions on a number of different indicators. The Higher Education Funding Council for England publishes an annual financial assessment of the sector in England. The latest version is Financial results and TRAC outcomes 2014-15, forecasts are given in Financial health of the higher education sector: 2014-15 to 2017-18 forecasts
Higher education finance statistics (339 KB , PDF)
An overview of the current system of support for children and young people with special educational needs, and pressure on the system. Updated with new 2024-25 SEND incidence and EHC plan data
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The government met its 2030 international student recruitment target of 600,000 ten years early and numbers have continued to increase since 2020. This briefing looks at student numbers, government policy, and the economic impact of international students.