What is the LA's duty to maintain an EHCP?

The duty, in one line

Local authorities must secure the special educational provision in a child’s EHC plan, review it at least every 12 months, and keep it until lawfully ceased. The 2026 reforms leave this duty unchanged before 2030. Those three obligations sit in the Children and Families Act 2014: secure the provision (s.42), review the plan (s.44), and cease only on lawful grounds (s.45). While an authority maintains a plan, all three run together.

What each strand requires

On securing provision, the Act says the authority must secure the special educational provision specified for the child or young person (s.42(2)). There is no qualifier on the verb. The only statutory release is where the parent or young person has made suitable alternative arrangements (s.42(5)).

On review, the authority must review the plan within 12 months of it first being made and in each subsequent 12-month period (s.44(1)), and must secure a re-assessment of needs when one is requested unless an exception applies (s.44(2)). The annual review is the moment the plan is checked against the child’s current needs, not a paperwork formality.

On ceasing, the authority may stop maintaining a plan only where it is no longer responsible for the child or young person, or where it determines the plan is no longer necessary (s.45(1)). Even then, it cannot stop maintaining the plan until the appeal period has expired or any appeal has been finally determined (s.45(4)).

The qualifier most summaries miss

The s.42(2) duty is non-delegable and effectively absolute. It is owed by the authority, not by the school. Handing day-to-day delivery to a setting does not transfer legal responsibility, and a setting’s failure to deliver does not discharge the duty. There is no resourcing or lack-of-capacity defence: if a school cannot make the provision, the authority has to step in and secure it directly, and any delay in putting Section F provision in place is itself a breach. ‘We have delegated it’ and ‘the budget is gone’ are not answers in law.

Does the 2026 reform change this?

Not yet. The February 2026 Schools White Paper Every Child Achieving and Thriving, with statutory change proposed through the Education for All Bill, sets out a reformed model: Individual Support Plans for every child with SEND, and EHC plans continuing for those who need more than is routinely available in mainstream, built on nationally defined Specialist Provision Packages for the most complex needs. These are proposals, phased from 2026. No changes to the support received through EHC plans take effect before at least September 2030, and current plan holders are protected. The s.42, s.44 and s.45 duties apply in full today, so reform on the horizon is not a reason to dilute a live duty.

• See also the duty to secure Section F provision, the duty at an annual review, and when a council can cease to maintain a plan.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.