Lambeth
Data availableLondon
43
appeals registered, 2024 (official DfE figure)
58
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.
This council says it doesn't track this. In its FOI response, Lambeth told the requester it does not categorise SEND tribunal appeals as simply "won" or "lost" — most are resolved by consent order rather than a contested ruling. See why that's true almost everywhere.
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.
- Lambeth Information, Advice & Support 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 · 020 7926 1831/9805.
- 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.
Structured outcome breakdown
Structured breakdown — 2019
real, from FOI response
Resolved before hearing — 8 (88.9%)
Contested, council lost — 0 (0%)
Contested, council won — 1 (11.1%)
resolved_before_hearing = struck out (1) + withdrawn (7); this understates the true bucket since the council states many further cases were resolved by consent/agreement, not separately quantified (only 8 of 41 registrations accounted for here). contested_and_council_won = 'dismissed/refused' (1); no distinct appellant-win figure given, so contested_and_council_lost is null. Council explicitly declined to frame results as win/loss ('Tribunal decisions rarely fall into clean categories... many are allowed in part').
Freedom of Information responses
Response dated 28 January 2025 (ref IRN31293693) to Joel Benjamin. Q3 tribunal registrations against the Borough (excludes Disability Discrimination Appeals against Lambeth schools, which go to the school's Responsible Body, not the LA), by calendar year: 2019: 41; 2020: 34; 2021: 29; 2022: 44; 2023: 52; 2024: 40. Q3i/3ii/3iii (breakdown by ground B/F/I) declined — Lambeth held that compiling this from individual SEND35 forms would exceed the s.12 cost limit. Q4 (cases 'defended') — Lambeth asked for clarification of what 'defended' means and did not provide a figure. Q5 '% of SEND tribunal cases contested were won/lost' — Lambeth declined to categorise as win/loss, explaining Tribunal decisions rarely fall into clean categories (many are 'allowed in part', e.g. LA succeeds on placement but parent succeeds on Section B/F content; many cases are agreed by consent before the hearing). Instead gave, by calendar year, cases dismissed/refused, struck out, and withdrawn: 2019: 41 cases, 1 dismissed/refused, 1 struck out, 7 withdrawn. 2020: 34 cases, 0 dismissed/refused, 0 struck out, 1 withdrawn. 2021: 29 cases, 1 dismissed/refused, 1 struck out, 1 withdrawn (in part, remainder agreed by consent). 2022: 44 cases, 3 dismissed/refused/struck out, 4 withdrawn (1 of which only B&F withdrawn). 2023: 52 cases, 2 dismissed/refused, 0 struck out, 3 withdrawn. 2024: 40 cases, 1 dismissed/refused, 0 struck out, 3 withdrawn. Q7 external legal support: Yes, engaged for SEN Tribunal cases 2019-2024; 'External Legal Costs SEN Tribunal Cases/Related Legal Work (excluding VAT)' by financial year: FY2019/20: 231,422.38 GBP; FY2020/21: 333,985.00 GBP; FY2021/22: 315,260.40 GBP; FY2022/23: 313,100.70 GBP; FY2023/24: 319,538.88 GBP; FY2024/25 (Q1+Q2 only, part year 01.04.24-30.09.24): 208,315.68 GBP.
Caveat: In every year, dismissed/refused + struck out + withdrawn is far smaller than the total registrations for that year (e.g. 2023: 52 registered vs only 5 accounted for) — per the council's own explanation this is because most remaining cases were 'allowed in part' or resolved by consent (categories not separately quantified), or are still pending. Do not read the small dismissed/struck-out/withdrawn numbers as a complete outcome breakdown of all registered appeals. The Section B/F/I ground breakdown was declined as exceeding the cost limit, unlike some other councils in this batch that did answer the equivalent question. External legal costs are for 'SEN Tribunal Cases/Related Legal Work' broadly and explicitly include non-tribunal-specific items: 'legal support on Ombudsman queries, judicial review threats, general advice, and legal training events, and rare judicial review cases where the LA is required to pay claimant legal costs' — so these cost figures are not purely tribunal litigation spend.