Peers highlighted the need for adequate funding and an increase in trained staff in a House of Lords debate last week on the Government's new special educational needs strategy - Removing Barriers to Achievement.
Lord Lucas described the current funding pressures on local authorities as "immensely destructive" and said it should not be "a matter of the local authority battling desperately to keep within budget ... and where, if another two kids with autism turn up, it has to start raiding 'care for the elderly' to keep within its capping limits".
Lord Davies of Coity said a "clear realisation" of the costs involved in providing education and care for children who suffer from disability and behavioural difficulties was needed.
