EHCP Personal Budget: What It Is and How to Request One

Personal budgets are one of the less well-known rights in the EHCP framework, and they are underused partly because many parents do not realise they can ask for one. If your child has an EHCP — or is in the process of getting one — understanding what a personal budget is and when it might help you is worth the time.

What an EHCP Personal Budget Is

An EHCP personal budget is an amount of money — identified by the local authority — that represents the cost of the provision specified in your child's EHCP that you can, in certain circumstances, direct yourself. It is not additional money on top of what the LA would otherwise spend. It is the LA's allocated funding for your child's provision, made available to you to manage in a more flexible way.

Personal budgets are governed by the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. The LA must tell parents about their right to request one when it confirms it will prepare a draft EHCP, and again at each Annual Review.

How Personal Budgets Are Delivered

Personal budgets can be delivered in three ways:

Direct payments: The local authority pays money directly to you as the parent. You then use this money to purchase and manage the provision yourself. For example, if Section F specifies 30 minutes of Speech and Language Therapy per week, you could use the direct payment to engage a private SALT of your choosing rather than waiting for the LA-commissioned service.

Notional budgets: The funding is held by the LA or the school, but you have influence over how it is used. You can agree with the LA how the money is spent, even if you do not receive it directly.

Third-party arrangements: A third-party organisation — such as a disability charity or support organisation — holds and manages the funds on your behalf and uses them to purchase provision according to an agreed plan.

In practice, direct payments tend to give parents the most flexibility and control. They also come with the most administrative responsibility.

Who Can Request a Personal Budget

Parents of children with EHCPs have a statutory right to request a personal budget. Young people aged 16 and over with EHCPs can request one in their own right. You can make a request at any point when the LA is preparing a draft EHCP, or during any Annual Review where the plan is being amended.

The LA can refuse a personal budget request in certain circumstances — for example, if they believe it would not represent an efficient use of funding, or if they cannot secure the provision through a personal budget arrangement. If they refuse, they must give reasons in writing and you can challenge the decision.

When a Personal Budget Makes Sense

Personal budgets are not the right tool in every situation. They work best when:

There is a specific private provider you want to use. If your child has a good relationship with a private SALT, OT, or specialist teacher, and the provision specified in Section F aligns with what that person provides, a direct payment allows you to continue that relationship rather than being allocated a different provider by the LA.

LA-commissioned services have long waiting lists. When the provision specified in Section F is technically being "arranged" by the LA but a waiting list means your child won't actually receive it for six months, a direct payment can allow you to commission the provision privately while the LA backlog clears.

You need flexibility in how provision is delivered. For some families — particularly where a child has severe anxiety or difficulty accessing community settings — having control over who delivers provision and in what environment is practically significant.

Practical Points to Understand

The LA will want to be satisfied that your personal budget arrangement will genuinely deliver the provision in Section F. They can impose certain conditions — for example, requiring you to submit receipts or reports confirming provision is being delivered.

If you are using a direct payment to pay a private practitioner, that practitioner must be appropriately qualified. The provision you purchase must match what Section F specifies. You cannot use the direct payment to fund provision that is not in Section F.

Keep meticulous records of all direct payment spending. The LA has the right to audit how the funds have been used and can claw back payments that were not spent on specified provision.

The Limit of Personal Budgets

Personal budgets apply only to the provision specified in Section F. They do not cover the full cost of a specialist school placement (which is arranged directly by the LA), transport, or anything outside the EHCP's scope. They are a tool for managing the delivery of Section F provision more flexibly, not a mechanism for funding additional provision beyond what the EHCP specifies.

If you want provision that is not currently in Section F, the right route is to request an amendment to the EHCP — not to supplement an inadequate plan with a personal budget.

For guidance on what your child's EHCP should contain, including what to look for in Section F and how to request amendments, see the England EHCP & SEN Blueprint.

See more United Kingdom homeschool guides →