DEVON is set to receive the next payment of the £95 million given by the government to help plug its special educational needs and disabilities (Send) funding blackhole.

The county has a cumulative deficit in its Send service of more than £164 million, which is predicted to rise before it begins to fall.

The county council submitted its bid to a scheme called Safety Valve, created to help cash-strapped councils get on top of education-related deficits.

To secure the cash, authorities have to show they can save money as well as revamp their Send services so they become more efficient.

Devon saved £10 million in total across all departments in the last financial year, helping to secure Safety Valve cash, which is being paid over nine years.

The county council has to hit other milestones and abide by other conditions throughout the life of the deal to ensure it gets the full funding.

It has agreed to contribute a further £5 million a year from its revenue budget and £20 million from reserves to bring the deficit back into balance by the end of the agreement.

Speaking at this week’s children’s scrutiny committee, Lois Samuel (Conservative, Okehampton Rural), the cabinet member for children’s Send improvement services, said the council had passed its first stress-test from the department for education.

“We are on target and so should be receiving the first tranche of money around 30 June, and then out next submission to the DfE will be on 28 August,” she said.

The council was given an initial £38 million around the end of March, and will soon be given £6.3 million more.

The same amount – £6.3 million – will be paid to the county council for the next six years, taking it to 2030/31, with the final payment in 2031/32 being £12.7 million.