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Bedford Borough Council

Data available

East of England

appeals registered, 2024 (official DfE figure)

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.

Bedford SEND Advice Service — 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 · 01234 276 267.
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

71.9%

18.8%

Resolved before hearing — 23 (71.9%) Contested, council lost — 6 (18.8%) Contested, council won — 2 (6.3%) Partially split — 1 (3.1%)

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 (32 appeals) — see how estimates work.

Freedom of Information responses

LBC REQUEST - FOI SEND provision

Partially successful

Requested by Fraser Knight on 2024-11-01 · answered 2024-11-29 · covers 2019-01-01 to 2024-10-01 (single cumulative period, not broken down by individual year)

Q3 'Between 1st January 2019 and 1st October 2024 how many SEND appeals were received by the council?' Response: 103. Q4 'Of these appeal cases decided by tribunal, how many were in favour of the council?' Response: 'Of the 103 appeals received by the Council between 1st January 2019 and 1st October 2024, 22 appeals proceeded to a Tribunal hearing and of those 3 cases were found in favour of the Council.' (Q1 SEND spend 2019-2024: £131,917,786.84; Q2 legal team spend: 'Information not recorded in a reportable manner.')

Caveat: Figures are cumulative across the ~5.75-year window, not broken down by year. Only 22 of the 103 appeals received proceeded to a full Tribunal hearing; the fate of the other 81 (conceded, withdrawn, mediated, still pending, etc.) is not itemised in this response. Legal team spend not recorded in a reportable manner.

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