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 2025, most councils did not meet it.
Across England, just 46.1% 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 seven 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 official 2025 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.
Seven years of decline
Timeliness hasn’t 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 2026.
In 2019, three in five plans were issued on time. By 2025 it was closer to two in five. The fall isn’t explained by a single bad year: apart from brief recoveries in 2021 and 2023, the trend has been downward, and the 2025 figure is the weakest on this run.
Where the plans landed
Being late isn’t 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 46.1%
- 20 to 52 weeks 43.5%
- More than a year 10.3%
More than half of plans, 53.8%, missed the 20-week deadline, and10.3% took longer than a full year. Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans, Reporting year 2026 (excluding exceptions).
Of every 100 plans issued in 2025, roughly 46 arrived on time, 44 took between 20 and 52 weeks, and 10 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 12.5% in a year, reaching 718,838 in January 2026. Councils issued 110,708 new plans during 2025, up 13.3% on the year before, and received 162,702 requests for an assessment, up 5.3%. Autism is the most common type of need recorded, accounting for 33.5% of pupils with a plan.
Rising demand helps explain the pressure on the 20-week clock. It doesn’t change the legal position: staffing shortages, assessment backlogs and budget pressure aren’t lawful reasons to miss the deadline.
Find your council
National averages hide enormous variation. In 2025 the share of plans issued on time ranged from 5.0% in the lowest-performing council to 100% in several others. High performance isn’t just a small-authority quirk: Liverpool issued 97.3% of its 1,269 plans on time, and Surrey issued 89.5% of nearly 2,000, while Derbyshire issued only 5.0% of its 1,472 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 2025, and how that compares with the England average of 46.1%.
Browse the full league table
Tap a column heading to sort. Worst-performing councils are shown first by default.
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 149 | East Midlands | 1,472 | 5% |
| 148 | South West | 974 | 5.1% |
| 147 | South West | 486 | 6.4% |
| 146 | North West | 286 | 6.7% |
| 145 | South West | 957 | 6.8% |
| 143 | East of England | 693 | 7.3% |
| 144 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,843 | 7.3% |
| 142 | South East | 696 | 7.8% |
| 141 | East Midlands | 1,307 | 7.9% |
| 140 | North West | 1,328 | 8.2% |
| 139 | North West | 2,921 | 9.6% |
| 138 | South West | 719 | 10.2% |
| 137 | South East | 307 | 11.5% |
| 136 | South West | 398 | 11.8% |
| 135 | West Midlands | 402 | 11.9% |
| 134 | South East | 1,653 | 15.5% |
| 133 | East of England | 2,639 | 16.5% |
| 132 | North West | 538 | 18.1% |
| 131 | West Midlands | 318 | 19.6% |
| 130 | North East | 193 | 19.9% |
| 129 | East of England | 2,420 | 20.1% |
| 128 | East Midlands | 2,187 | 20.3% |
| 126 | North East | 98 | 21.4% |
| 127 | South East | 1,121 | 21.4% |
| 125 | North East | 547 | 21.8% |
| 124 | North West | 662 | 21.9% |
| 123 | North West | 670 | 22.1% |
| 122 | West Midlands | 1,285 | 22.8% |
| 121 | London | 354 | 22.9% |
| 120 | North West | 797 | 23.9% |
| 119 | West Midlands | 1,322 | 24.6% |
| 118 | West Midlands | 424 | 25.1% |
| 117 | South East | 273 | 25.2% |
| 116 | London | 571 | 25.7% |
| 115 | North East | 397 | 26% |
| 114 | South West | 177 | 27.1% |
| 113 | London | 289 | 27.2% |
| 112 | South West | 1,274 | 27.4% |
| 111 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,124 | 27.8% |
| 110 | London | 653 | 27.9% |
| 109 | East of England | 506 | 29.1% |
| 108 | West Midlands | 1,024 | 29.8% |
| 107 | East Midlands | 546 | 30.2% |
| 106 | North West | 707 | 30.3% |
| 105 | South East | 509 | 30.5% |
| 104 | London | 565 | 31.2% |
| 103 | London | 807 | 31.5% |
| 102 | London | 413 | 32% |
| 101 | East Midlands | 1,038 | 32.3% |
| 100 | London | 420 | 32.8% |
| 99 | South West | 384 | 33.2% |
| 98 | South West | 829 | 34.1% |
| 97 | East of England | 481 | 35.4% |
| 96 | West Midlands | 1,543 | 37.1% |
| 95 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 609 | 37.4% |
| 94 | West Midlands | 604 | 37.6% |
| 93 | South East | 1,411 | 37.8% |
| 92 | London | 425 | 42.8% |
| 90 | South East | 513 | 42.9% |
| 91 | North West | 581 | 42.9% |
| 89 | South East | 291 | 43% |
| 88 | South East | 382 | 43.1% |
| 87 | London | 703 | 46% |
| 86 | East of England | 577 | 47% |
| 85 | North West | 430 | 47.4% |
| 84 | North West | 410 | 49.3% |
| 83 | South East | 3,323 | 52% |
| 82 | London | 693 | 52.2% |
| 81 | East Midlands | 519 | 52.6% |
| 80 | North East | 442 | 52.9% |
| 79 | North West | 569 | 54.9% |
| 78 | North West | 252 | 55% |
| 77 | East of England | 529 | 56.3% |
| 76 | East Midlands | 974 | 56.5% |
| 75 | South West | 365 | 56.6% |
| 74 | South East | 1,758 | 56.9% |
| 73 | West Midlands | 388 | 57% |
| 72 | South East | 411 | 57.4% |
| 71 | London | 433 | 58.4% |
| 70 | West Midlands | 532 | 58.7% |
| 69 | North East | 184 | 59.4% |
| 68 | North West | 436 | 59.6% |
| 67 | East of England | 2,631 | 60.3% |
| 66 | London | 1,038 | 61.2% |
| 65 | South West | 690 | 61.6% |
| 64 | South East | 339 | 62.5% |
| 63 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 402 | 62.8% |
| 62 | London | 476 | 65.9% |
| 61 | East of England | 460 | 66% |
| 60 | West Midlands | 1,565 | 66.1% |
| 59 | London | 708 | 67.2% |
| 58 | South West | 656 | 69% |
| 57 | London | 441 | 69.7% |
| 56 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 368 | 70.4% |
| 55 | London | 738 | 71.3% |
| 54 | North West | 392 | 72% |
| 53 | London | 205 | 73% |
| 52 | North West | 360 | 73.6% |
| 51 | West Midlands | 325 | 74% |
| 50 | North West | 1,524 | 74.2% |
| 49 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,144 | 75.7% |
| 48 | North West | 347 | 76.9% |
| 46 | North East | 715 | 77.6% |
| 47 | London | 368 | 77.6% |
| 45 | South West | 510 | 78.2% |
| 44 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 549 | 79.4% |
| 43 | North West | 294 | 79.9% |
| 42 | South East | 334 | 80% |
| 41 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 424 | 80.2% |
| 40 | East Midlands | 89 | 80.7% |
| 39 | North East | 561 | 81.4% |
| 38 | North East | 122 | 81.5% |
| 37 | North East | 168 | 83.7% |
| 36 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 381 | 83.9% |
| 35 | London | 318 | 85.8% |
| 34 | North West | 538 | 86% |
| 33 | North West | 344 | 86.4% |
| 32 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,385 | 86.5% |
| 31 | East Midlands | 1,133 | 86.8% |
| 30 | London | 227 | 87.2% |
| 29 | London | 427 | 88.2% |
| 28 | London | 421 | 89.1% |
| 27 | South East | 1,948 | 89.5% |
| 26 | London | 284 | 89.6% |
| 25 | North East | 185 | 92% |
| 23 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 354 | 92.9% |
| 24 | London | 220 | 92.9% |
| 22 | North East | 300 | 93.3% |
| 21 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 459 | 94.1% |
| 20 | East of England | 286 | 94.3% |
| 19 | London | 491 | 95.6% |
| 17 | South West | 493 | 96% |
| 18 | London | 252 | 96% |
| 16 | West Midlands | 301 | 96.3% |
| 15 | London | 228 | 96.5% |
| 14 | London | 289 | 97.2% |
| 12 | North West | 1,269 | 97.3% |
| 13 | West Midlands | 354 | 97.3% |
| 11 | London | 115 | 97.9% |
| 10 | North West | 372 | 98.1% |
| 9 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 335 | 98.5% |
| 7 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 452 | 98.6% |
| 8 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 331 | 98.6% |
| 1 | London | 635 | 100% |
| 2 | South East | 130 | 100% |
| 3 | London | 4 | 100% |
| 4 | South West | 1 | 100% |
| 5 | London | 392 | 100% |
| 6 | South East | 168 | 100% |
Not shown: Halton, Isle of Wight, Leicester, Norfolk. These councils have no comparable 2025 figure (their plans were all classed as exceptions, or the data was withdrawn).
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans, Reporting year 2026 (data for 2025), table timeliness_20_week, excluding exceptions. Bottom-up total of these 149 councils
reconciles to the published England figure of 46.1%.
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. Four councils, Halton, the Isle of Wight, Leicester and Norfolk, have no comparable 2025 figure and are listed but not ranked.
If your council has missed the deadline
A missed deadline isn’t 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’re 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’re 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 2026, published on 25 June 2026. The timeliness figures are for plans issued during the 2025 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 46.03%, which reconciles with the DfE’s published England figure of 46.1%.
The council table covers the 149 local authorities with a comparable 2025 figure. Four are excluded from the ranking: Halton and the Isle of Wight had their 2025 data suppressed by DfE over data-quality concerns, Norfolk classed all its 2025 plans as exceptions, so no within-deadline percentage can be calculated, and Leicester could not provide the assessment dates the calculation needs. 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 July 2026.