Your child has an EHCP. The provision is specified in Section F. But the support the LA arranges isn’t working. The speech therapist cancels half the sessions. The TA keeps changing. The specialist tutor the LA commissioned doesn’t understand your child’s needs.
You know what your child needs. You’ve found the right professionals. You just need the money to pay for them.
That’s what an EHCP personal budget is for. It gives you the right to request control over how the provision in your child’s plan is funded and delivered. Section 49 of the Children and Families Act 2014 gives you a statutory right to make this request when an EHCP is first drawn up or at any annual review. And it’s a strong right: when you ask, the LA must prepare a personal budget, not merely think about it. Whether any part of it reaches you as a direct payment is a separate decision with its own conditions, covered below.
What a personal budget is
A personal budget is the money it costs to deliver the provision already written in your child’s EHCP: not extra funding, not a separate pot, just the cost of what’s already specified in the plan, delivered in a way that gives you more control.
There are three ways the money can be managed.
| Direct payment | Notional budget | |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds the money | You (or your child if 16+) | LA or ICB |
| Who chooses providers | You | LA, school or college (you’re involved, they commission) |
| Administration | You manage payments, keep records, submit returns | LA handles payments |
| Control level | Highest | Medium |
The third option is a third-party arrangement, where an independent organisation manages the funds on your behalf. You direct choices, but the third party handles administration.
You can combine mechanisms. For example, a direct payment for a specialist tutor alongside a notional budget for physiotherapy managed by the ICB.
What it’s not
A personal budget isn’t a blank cheque. There are important boundaries:
- It doesn’t give you the right to any specific amount (the LA decides based on Section F costs)
- It doesn’t provide extra money beyond the plan (it funds existing provision differently, not more provision)
- It doesn’t replace the LA’s legal duties (they retain responsibility for ensuring delivery happens)
- It can’t be used for school placements (you can’t use it for school fees or to fund a school place)
- A direct payment for support delivered in a school or college needs the written consent of the head teacher or principal before the LA can make it
The budget must be calculated transparently from the provision specified in Section F. If Section F says “20 hours per week of specialist TA support,” the budget is whatever that costs.
The single most important thing before requesting a personal budget is making sure Section F is specific and quantified. If Section F says “access to support as needed” or “regular therapy sessions,” there’s nothing to calculate a budget from. Fix Section F first.
How to request one
You can request a personal budget when the EHCP is first drawn up, at any annual review, or during a reassessment. If you don’t yet have an EHCP, see our guide to requesting an EHCP assessment as the first step. The request goes to the LA’s SEN team.
Before you write:
- Check Section F - make sure provision is specified with hours, frequency, and type (e.g., “2 x 45-minute weekly SALT sessions” not “speech therapy as needed”)
- Write formally and cite Section 49 of the Children and Families Act 2014
- State the specific Section F (or G or H) provision you want the budget for
- State your preferred delivery mechanism: direct payment, notional, or third-party
- Request the calculation methodology and ask how the budget amount was worked out
When the LA responds with a budget amount, check it carefully. Request a line-by-line breakdown. The budget must cover the genuine cost of delivery, including employer NI contributions, holiday pay, pension auto-enrolment, insurance, and training if you’re hiring directly.
These are illustrative figures for a term-time role (roughly 39 weeks a year, with employer costs adding around a fifth on top of gross pay). Use them to check whether your LA’s proposed budget is realistic.
If the LA offers a budget based on their internal commissioning rate and you can’t purchase the provision at that price, the budget is insufficient. Challenge it.
When the LA says no
LAs can refuse a personal budget, but only for specific reasons. And blanket policies refusing all personal budgets are unlawful.
The lawful reasons are narrow. The LA can decline to prepare a personal budget where the funding sits inside a larger block contract and cannot be separated out without harming services for other children with plans, or without wasting resources. It can decline a direct payment where it isn’t satisfied the money would be used appropriately and in your child’s best interests, where a direct payment would harm other services it provides, or where it wouldn’t be an efficient use of resources. “We never do them” isn’t one of these reasons.
| What the LA says | What the law says +Your rights | |
|---|---|---|
| Personal budgets | “We don’t do personal budgets” | CFA 2014 s.49 gives a statutory right. Blanket refusals are unlawful. |
| Budget amount | “The amount is based on our rate” | Budget must reflect actual delivery cost, not internal rates. |
| Provider choice | “You must use our provider” | Direct payments let you choose. For support delivered in school, the head also has to consent. |
| Section F | “Section F isn’t specific enough” | Correct - fix Section F first, then re-request. |
If the LA refuses a direct payment, it must give you its reasons in writing and tell you about your right to request a formal review of the decision. Use that review: the LA has to reconsider and reply in writing. A personal budget refusal can’t be appealed to the SEND Tribunal, so the review (and then the complaints route) is how you challenge it. If the reason is that Section F isn’t specific enough, request an annual review specifically to quantify the provision, then re-request the budget.
Managing a direct payment
If you receive a direct payment, you take on administrative responsibilities. These aren’t insurmountable, but they’re worth understanding before you commit. You will need to:
- keep a separate bank account for the funds
- keep detailed records of receipts, invoices, and timesheets
- submit regular returns to the LA (how often is set in your direct payment agreement)
- take on employer duties if hiring directly (PAYE, insurance, pension auto-enrolment, contracts)
- return unused funds if the LA asks for them back (it can only reclaim what you haven’t spent, and must give written notice)
- cooperate with the LA’s reviews of your spending (the first within three months of the first payment, then at plan reviews)
The administrative burden is real, but you’ll likely find that choosing your own providers and controlling the quality of support is worth the extra work. The provision arrives consistently, the professionals understand your child, and you’re not relying on the LA to arrange (and re-arrange) provision that keeps falling through.
Components you can include
A personal budget can cover provision from different sections of the EHCP.
Section F (education): specialist tutoring, 1:1 support, assistive technology, educational resources. Funded by the LA.
Section G (health): physiotherapy, occupational therapy and other health provision. Funded by the ICB (Integrated Care Board). One caveat worth knowing: speech and language therapy should normally sit in Section F as educational provision (funded by the LA), because communication is fundamental to education. It only belongs in Section G in exceptional cases.
Section H (social care): personal care support, respite, short breaks. Funded by the LA.
You can have personal budgets for some components and LA-arranged provision for others. Mix and match based on what works.
Why it’s often better
When the LA arranges provision, you’re dependent on their commissioning decisions, their provider contracts, and their timescales. If a therapist leaves, you wait for a replacement. If the contract changes, you start again.
With a personal budget, you choose the professionals. You build continuity. Your child works with people who know them. And when something isn’t working, you can change it without waiting for the LA to act. A personal budget doesn’t give you more money, but it gives you more control. For many families, that control is the difference between provision that works and provision that exists only on paper.
Getting help
IPSEA provides free legal advice on EHCP personal budgets and can help you challenge refusals. Helpline: 0300 222 5899.
Your local SENDIASS can help you understand the personal budget process and support you through the request.
In Control publishes resources on self-directed support and personal budgets.
You have the right to ask
Section 49 exists for a reason. It gives parents and carers the power to take control of how their child’s support is delivered. Not all LAs make it easy. Some actively resist. But the law is on your side.
If the LA’s provision isn’t working for your child, a personal budget might be the answer. Start by checking Section F. Then make the request. And don’t take a blanket refusal as the final word.