When a child needs an Education, Health and Care plan, the law gives their local authority a clock. From the day a family asks for an assessment, the council has 20 weeks to issue the final plan. In 2024, most councils did not meet it.
Across England, just 46.4% of new EHCPs were issued within the 20-week deadline, excluding the small number of cases the rules allow to run over. That is the lowest share in six years, and it means that for more than half of children granted a plan, the support they were assessed as needing arrived late.
This report sets out the national picture from the Department for Education’s latest figures, then lets you check how your own council performed.
What the 20-week deadline means
An Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) is the legally binding document that sets out a child or young person’s special educational needs and the support a council must arrange. To get one, a parent, school or young person asks the local authority for an EHC needs assessment.
From the date of that request, the Children and Families Act 2014 and its regulations give the council 20 weeks to carry out the assessment, decide whether to issue a plan, and, if it does, finalise it. The deadline is the legal maximum, not a target to aim near.
The rules do allow a short list of exceptions, for example when the request lands over a summer holiday or the family is away for an extended period. The figures in this report exclude those exception cases, so they measure how councils performed against the deadline in the cases where it fully applied. That is the same definition the DfE uses for its headline figure.
“Excluding exceptions” is the fairer measure. It strips out the cases the law permits to run over and asks: of the plans where the 20-week clock applied in full, how many were issued on time? Every figure below uses this measure.
Six years of decline
Timeliness has not simply dipped. It has fallen steadily as demand for plans has climbed.
The 20-week deadline is the legal maximum for issuing a plan (excluding a short list of permitted exceptions). Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans, Reporting year 2025.
In 2019, three in five plans were issued on time. By 2024 it was closer to two in five. The fall is not explained by a single bad year: apart from a brief recovery in 2021, the trend has been downward, and the 2024 figure is the weakest on this run.
Where the plans landed
Being late is not all the same. A plan that arrives a fortnight after the deadline is a very different thing from one that takes more than a year, by which point a child may have missed the better part of a school year without the support they were entitled to.
- Within 20 weeks 46.4%
- 20 to 52 weeks 46.2%
- More than a year 7.3%
More than half of plans, 53.5%, missed the 20-week deadline, and 7.3% took longer than a full year. Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans, Reporting year 2025 (excluding exceptions).
Of every 100 plans issued in 2024, roughly 46 arrived on time, 46 took between 20 and 52 weeks, and 7 took longer than a full year.
A system under strain
The timeliness figures sit on top of a system absorbing fast-rising demand. More children than ever have a plan, and more families are asking for one.
The number of plans in force rose 10.8% in a year, reaching 638,745 in January 2025. Councils issued 97,747 new plans during 2024, up 15.8% on the year before, and received 154,489 requests for an assessment, up 11.8%. Autism is the most common type of need recorded, accounting for 33.6% of pupils with a plan.
Rising demand helps explain the pressure on the 20-week clock. It does not change the legal position: staffing shortages, assessment backlogs and budget pressure are not lawful reasons to miss the deadline.
Find your council
National averages hide enormous variation. In 2024 the share of plans issued on time ranged from 3.2% in the lowest-performing council to 100% in several others. High performance is not just a small-authority quirk: large authorities including Liverpool and Lincolnshire issued nearly all of their plans on time, on well over a thousand plans each, while Devon issued only 3.2% of its 1,277 plans within the deadline.
Use the tool below to see how your local authority performed, where it ranks, and how it compares with the England average.
Interactive
Find your council
Type a local authority to see how many of its EHCPs met the 20-week legal deadline in 2024, and how that compares with the England average of 46.4%.
Browse the full league table
Tap a column heading to sort. Worst-performing councils are shown first by default.
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 | South West | 1,277 | 3.2% |
| 148 | East Midlands | 772 | 4.3% |
| 149 | South East | 485 | 4.3% |
| 147 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 500 | 5.8% |
| 146 | South West | 403 | 6% |
| 144 | South West | 914 | 7% |
| 145 | London | 356 | 7% |
| 143 | South East | 312 | 7.5% |
| 142 | North West | 575 | 7.8% |
| 140 | East of England | 729 | 8.8% |
| 141 | North East | 476 | 8.8% |
| 139 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 717 | 9.3% |
| 138 | South East | 1,495 | 11.4% |
| 137 | South East | 377 | 11.9% |
| 136 | East Midlands | 711 | 12.2% |
| 135 | North West | 716 | 12.6% |
| 134 | East of England | 1,833 | 15% |
| 133 | North West | 487 | 15.8% |
| 132 | East of England | 299 | 16.1% |
| 131 | East Midlands | 442 | 16.4% |
| 130 | East Midlands | 930 | 17.2% |
| 129 | North West | 1,720 | 17.3% |
| 128 | South West | 684 | 17.4% |
| 127 | North East | 920 | 18.3% |
| 126 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 188 | 18.6% |
| 125 | West Midlands | 1,122 | 21.3% |
| 124 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 785 | 22.9% |
| 123 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 678 | 24.6% |
| 122 | South West | 349 | 24.8% |
| 121 | East of England | 1,366 | 25.4% |
| 120 | South West | 910 | 26.1% |
| 119 | West Midlands | 1,382 | 26.7% |
| 118 | East of England | 377 | 27.1% |
| 117 | West Midlands | 474 | 27.2% |
| 116 | London | 500 | 27.7% |
| 115 | South East | 7 | 28.6% |
| 114 | North West | 597 | 28.8% |
| 113 | South West | 218 | 28.9% |
| 111 | London | 439 | 29.4% |
| 112 | North West | 876 | 29.4% |
| 110 | South West | 906 | 29.5% |
| 109 | East Midlands | 294 | 29.9% |
| 108 | South East | 730 | 32.1% |
| 107 | West Midlands | 559 | 32.8% |
| 106 | South East | 2,424 | 33.3% |
| 105 | South West | 567 | 33.5% |
| 104 | London | 461 | 36% |
| 103 | London | 680 | 36.1% |
| 102 | West Midlands | 947 | 36.3% |
| 101 | West Midlands | 720 | 36.5% |
| 100 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 364 | 36.8% |
| 99 | West Midlands | 1,389 | 37.4% |
| 98 | East Midlands | 1,259 | 37.5% |
| 97 | East Midlands | 1,253 | 37.8% |
| 96 | South East | 962 | 38.5% |
| 95 | London | 468 | 38.7% |
| 94 | London | 593 | 39.7% |
| 93 | North East | 230 | 40.7% |
| 92 | South East | 2,340 | 41% |
| 91 | South East | 2,134 | 41.3% |
| 90 | North West | 415 | 42.2% |
| 88 | North West | 378 | 42.6% |
| 89 | North West | 628 | 42.6% |
| 87 | South East | 348 | 43% |
| 86 | London | 465 | 43.3% |
| 85 | North East | 170 | 45.7% |
| 84 | South East | 206 | 45.8% |
| 83 | North West | 438 | 47.9% |
| 82 | East of England | 288 | 48.6% |
| 81 | East of England | 649 | 48.8% |
| 79 | North East | 743 | 49% |
| 80 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 670 | 49% |
| 78 | South West | 247 | 49.4% |
| 77 | London | 463 | 50.8% |
| 76 | East Midlands | 575 | 51.5% |
| 75 | West Midlands | 501 | 52.3% |
| 74 | North West | 869 | 53.1% |
| 73 | North West | 380 | 53.4% |
| 72 | North West | 449 | 55.2% |
| 70 | South East | 269 | 55.8% |
| 71 | West Midlands | 395 | 55.8% |
| 68 | East of England | 1,781 | 56.3% |
| 69 | East of England | 1,909 | 56.3% |
| 67 | North West | 208 | 56.5% |
| 66 | South East | 251 | 56.8% |
| 65 | London | 476 | 57.6% |
| 64 | South East | 304 | 59.1% |
| 63 | North West | 479 | 59.7% |
| 62 | South West | 625 | 61.5% |
| 60 | North West | 220 | 61.6% |
| 61 | South West | 449 | 61.6% |
| 59 | North West | 461 | 62.6% |
| 58 | West Midlands | 686 | 63.4% |
| 57 | London | 719 | 64.7% |
| 56 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 236 | 65.1% |
| 55 | West Midlands | 334 | 67.6% |
| 54 | London | 517 | 68.6% |
| 53 | North East | 171 | 70.9% |
| 52 | North East | 402 | 71.2% |
| 51 | London | 522 | 71.5% |
| 50 | North West | 563 | 72.3% |
| 49 | North East | 172 | 72.5% |
| 48 | London | 916 | 72.8% |
| 47 | East of England | 355 | 74.2% |
| 46 | North East | 122 | 74.6% |
| 45 | London | 366 | 76.5% |
| 44 | North West | 408 | 76.6% |
| 43 | North West | 1,657 | 76.8% |
| 42 | South West | 784 | 77.6% |
| 41 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 535 | 77.7% |
| 40 | East Midlands | 70 | 78.4% |
| 39 | North East | 220 | 79.1% |
| 38 | London | 398 | 79.3% |
| 37 | London | 295 | 79.5% |
| 36 | West Midlands | 258 | 80.4% |
| 35 | North East | 266 | 80.8% |
| 34 | London | 402 | 82.3% |
| 33 | London | 219 | 84.2% |
| 32 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 456 | 84.9% |
| 30 | South East | 420 | 85.1% |
| 31 | London | 706 | 85.1% |
| 29 | London | 172 | 85.4% |
| 28 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 457 | 86.2% |
| 27 | North West | 260 | 86.5% |
| 26 | West Midlands | 457 | 87.1% |
| 25 | London | 423 | 87.2% |
| 24 | West Midlands | 334 | 87.4% |
| 23 | London | 473 | 89.3% |
| 22 | East of England | 389 | 89.4% |
| 21 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,337 | 89.6% |
| 20 | London | 361 | 90.8% |
| 19 | North West | 331 | 91.6% |
| 18 | London | 277 | 93.8% |
| 17 | London | 260 | 94.2% |
| 16 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 429 | 95.6% |
| 15 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 400 | 96.5% |
| 14 | London | 181 | 96.6% |
| 13 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 363 | 96.8% |
| 12 | South East | 336 | 97.5% |
| 11 | South East | 302 | 97.8% |
| 10 | North West | 1,285 | 97.9% |
| 9 | North East | 306 | 98% |
| 7 | North West | 296 | 99% |
| 8 | East Midlands | 1,099 | 99% |
| 1 | London | 747 | 100% |
| 2 | South West | 1 | 100% |
| 3 | London | 98 | 100% |
| 4 | London | 406 | 100% |
| 5 | London | 140 | 100% |
| 6 | South East | 127 | 100% |
Not shown: City of London, Dorset, Lewisham. These councils have no comparable 2024 figure (their plans were all classed as exceptions, or the data was withdrawn).
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans, Reporting year 2025 (data for 2024), table timeliness_20_week, excluding exceptions. Bottom-up total of these 150 councils
reconciles to the published England figure of 46.4%.
Read small councils with care. A handful of authorities issue very few plans a year, so a single case can swing their percentage. The table flags these. Three councils, City of London, Dorset and Lewisham, have no comparable 2024 figure and are listed but not ranked.
If your council has missed the deadline
A missed deadline is not something you simply have to accept. The duty to issue the plan on time sits with the local authority, and the law gives you routes to push when it slips.
Keep it in writing. Note the date you requested the assessment, count 20 weeks forward, and put your chasing in an email so there is a clear record of the delay.
- If you are still waiting on a plan, our guide on what to do when an assessment stalls walks through the next steps.
- If the council has refused to assess or to issue a plan, you have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. In 2024-25, 99% of decided SEND appeals were found in the family’s favour. Our guide to appealing an EHCP decision explains how.
- For a delay itself, a formal complaint to the council, and then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, is often the right first step. Our complaint letter guide can help you draft one.
If you are not sure which route fits your situation, the assistant can talk it through with you and help you write the letters.
Methodology and sources
The figures in this report come from the Department for Education’s official statistics release Education, health and care plans, Reporting year 2025, published on 26 June 2025. The timeliness figures are for plans issued during the 2024 calendar year.
The headline measure is the percentage of new EHCPs issued within 20 weeks, excluding exceptions, taken from the release’s timeliness_20_week data file. We aggregated the figures for all reporting local authorities as a check: the bottom-up total came to 46.32%, which reconciles with the DfE’s published England figure of 46.4%.
The council table covers the 150 local authorities with a comparable 2024 figure. Three are excluded from the ranking: City of London and Dorset classed all their 2024 plans as exceptions, so no within-deadline percentage can be calculated, and Lewisham’s data was withdrawn by the authority as incorrect. Authorities issuing very small numbers of plans are flagged, because their percentages are volatile.
Demand figures (plans in force, new plans, requests and primary need) are from the same DfE release and the related Special educational needs in England statistics. The tribunal figure is from the Ministry of Justice’s Tribunal Statistics Quarterly. Data accessed June 2026.