Surrey’s six Liberal Democrat MPs demand profit cap on “profiteering” private SEND providers

Helen Maguire, Al Pinkerton, Chris Coghlan, Monica Harding, Will Forster and Zöe Franklin have criticised blatant “profiteering” by private special educational needs providers, as the party calls for a cap on their profits to end the scandal.

House of Commons Library research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, has uncovered evidence of the top private equity companies providing SEND schooling exploiting the system with annual profits increasing as the SEND crisis has worsened – with some making margins exceeding 20%.

Many local authorities are facing exorbitant costs for private provision, but here in Surrey the problem has been exacerbated by the failure of Conservative-led Surrey County Council to provide adequate local authority provision leading to a reliance on private provision at a significantly inflated cost. 

Witherslack Group Limited, who operate Bramley Hill School in Tadworth, have this year posted a turnover of £208 million with an operating profit £44.6 million. This is an increase from a £172.8 million turnover and £34.8 million operating profit in the year to August 2024.

It is well documented that Witherslack are not only making huge profits out of system in crisis, but they are also failing to serve residents at the taxpayers expense.

The Liberal Democrats are pushing for private providers of special needs education – some of whom are backed by private equity companies based in tax havens or foreign sovereign wealth funds – to face profit caps of 8% to curb excessive profiteering off the backs of disabled children.

Surrey’s Liberal Democrat MPs have criticised these companies for “exploiting” the crisis in the SEND system and echoed their party’s calls to introduce an 8% cap on their profits.

16,069 children in Surrey currently have an ECHP according to the latest government data available. An EHCP is a legally binding document that outlines a child or young person's special educational, health, and social care needs, along with the support required to meet those needs.

Liberal Democrat MPs Helen Maguire, Al Pinkerton, Chris Coghlan, Monica Harding, Will Forster and Zöe Franklin, said:

“It is completely unacceptable that the top private SEND providers in Surrey are lining their pockets by exploiting a system that has been left in crisis by repeated failures from the Conservatives. 

“When in Government the Conservatives failed to adequately fund local authorities to deal with SEND provision, and as leaders of Surrey County Council they have further added to the crisis in the county by failing to provide appropriate specialist schools.

“Supporting places at non-maintained independent schools accounted for £122 million last year, nearly half of Surrey’s high needs block. It is often half the cost to put those children in state supported education, yet children are being failed every day. Surrey has some of the worst SEND figures in the country, with 1,809 children out of school for over a third of the time in 2023/24.

“We are deeply concerned to see this greedy profiteering from private equity firms, further inflaming the crisis, especially when just this month many parents are calling for a review of Bramley Hill’s “good” Ofsted rating.

“When you combine these companies’ extreme profits with the fact parents across Surrey are reporting off rolling by private providers, it emphasises the urgent need for the Government to cap the profits of these firms at 8%, to ensure that money is channelled back into the SEND system, and not into the pockets of shareholders.

“It's time to put provision over profits, our young people deserve so much better.”