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Bath and North East Somerset Council
Data availableSouth West
50
appeals registered, 2024 (official DfE figure)
57
appeals registered, 2025 (official DfE figure)
Data available. At least one Freedom of Information response gives real, extractable figures on tribunal appeals or outcomes for this council.
Thinking about appealing, or partway through it? These are free, independent sources of advice — not run by this site, and not run by any council.
- SENDIAS Bathnes — this council's own free SEND information, advice and support service. Every council is legally required to fund one, at arm's length from itself · 01225 394 382 (10am-3pm Monday to Friday, outside these hours a voicemail service operates).
- IPSEA — Free, independent legal advice on SEN law — including EHC plans and tribunal appeals.
- SOS!SEN — Free helpline and 1:1 advice specifically on preparing a SEND tribunal appeal.
- Coram Children's Legal Centre — Free education law advice line, including SEN appeals and EHC plan reviews.
- GOV.UK: appeal an EHC plan decision — The official government guide to the appeals process itself — who can appeal, mediation, costs.
Estimated outcome breakdown
Estimated, not reported
Resolved before hearing — 41 (73.2%)
Contested, council lost — 10 (17.9%)
Contested, council won — 3 (5.4%)
Partially split — 2 (3.6%)
This council's own answer doesn't give a usable outcome breakdown. This estimate applies the pooled England-wide outcome rate (no regional sample was large enough to trust on its own) to this council's own real, officially-published appeal volume for 2025 (57 appeals) — see how estimates work.
By decision type
By decision type — 2020/21
| Category (council's own wording) | Appeals | Overturned |
|---|---|---|
| refused requests...subsequently overturned following Tribunal | — | 3 |
By decision type — 2021/22
| Category (council's own wording) | Appeals | Overturned |
|---|---|---|
| refused requests...subsequently overturned following Tribunal | — | 7 |
By decision type — 2022/23
| Category (council's own wording) | Appeals | Overturned |
|---|---|---|
| refused requests...subsequently overturned following Tribunal | — | 3 |
By decision type — 2023/24
| Category (council's own wording) | Appeals | Overturned |
|---|---|---|
| refused requests...subsequently overturned following Tribunal | — | 11 |
Freedom of Information responses
Awaiting classification
Table by year (2020-2024): (1a) Total EHC needs assessment requests received: 312, 433, 522, 586, 578. (1b) Requests refused without an assessment being carried out: 33, 58, 87, 132, 197. (2a) Of refused requests, number subsequently overturned following Mediation: Not available, 7, 3, 7, 40. (2b) Number subsequently overturned following Tribunal (the request defines this as including cases conceded by the LA prior to a full hearing): Not available, 3, 7, 3, 11. (3) Breakdown of sections 1-2 by primary category of need, Physical Disability (PD) only: 12, 12, 11, 5, 13. (5b) Total annual recorded expenditure relating to SEND Mediation services and SEND tribunal appeals (including external legal representation) combined: £32,211.76, £16,581.50, £25,630.50, £33,481.30, £58,619.74.
Caveat: The original request text, as reproduced verbatim in the letter, is addressed throughout to 'North Somerset Council' even though the response letter itself is headed and issued by 'Bath & North East Somerset Council' — likely a copy/paste artefact in the requester's own question wording rather than a genuinely wrong-council reply, but flagged since it could indicate a template mismatch; treat the council attribution with some caution. Row 2a/2b ('overturned following Mediation'/'Tribunal') is 'Not available' for 2020. Only the Physical Disability need-category breakdown was answered for item 3; the requester's specific ask for a Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy/neuromuscular sub-breakdown was not separately disclosed (council's own instruction was to fold small figures into the broadest available category). Timeframe data (between refusal and mediation/tribunal outcome, item 4) and staff/team role information (item 5a) are 'Not available' for every year. The £ spend figures (5b) cover SEND Mediation AND SEND Tribunal Services combined and the council states it cannot further break out the tribunal-only portion (5c also 'Not available'), so these figures should not be read as tribunal-defence cost alone.
Re-use terms stated by the council: Response footer refers to a reuse disclaimer at bathnes.gov.uk (services/your-council-and-democracy/data-protection-and-freedom-information/copyright-reusing-public) — specific terms not read.