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Liverpool City Council

Data available

North West

349

appeals registered, 2024 (official DfE figure)

393

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.

Liverpool and Knowsley Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice, and 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 · 0333 323 7768.
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 — 2017

real, from FOI response

75%

25%

Resolved before hearing — 0 (0%) Contested, council lost — 12 (75%) Contested, council won — 4 (25%)

'Cases' (18) represents the defended/heard population under this FOI campaign's template ('First-tier Tribunal (SEND)', Michael Gaffney) -- per this project's convention for this template, not mapped to appeals_registered. Council: 'Liverpool City Council confirms that it holds information relevant to the terms of your request' with explicit 'Won'/'Lost' columns: contested_and_council_won=4, contested_and_council_lost=12. Won+Lost is less than total Cases (4+12=16 of 18, 2 unaccounted), implying additional un-itemised outcomes (withdrawn, conceded, pending, or otherwise undecided) not broken out by the council.

Source →

Freedom of Information responses

First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability)

Partially successful

Requested by Michael Gaffney on 2020-01-30 · answered 2020-02-27 · covers 2017, 2018, 2019

Response to FOI 3022329 ('First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability)'). 'Liverpool City Council confirms that it holds information relevant to the terms of your request': 2017 - Cases 18, Won 4, Lost 12. 2018 - Cases 12, Won 2, Lost 8. 2019 - Cases 27, Won 1, Lost 18. 'We do not record the cost of these tribunals.'

Caveat: In every year, Won+Lost is less than the stated total Cases figure (2017: 4+12=16 of 18; 2018: 2+8=10 of 12; 2019: 1+18=19 of 27), implying additional outcomes (e.g. withdrawn, conceded, pending, or otherwise not decided) that the council did not itemise in this response.