Bolton EHCP report card

How long does an EHCP take in Bolton?

The law allows 20 weeks; in 2024, Bolton issued 72.3% of new EHC plans within that deadline (402 of 556 plans, excluding exceptional cases), ranking it 50 of 150 reporting English councils. The England average was 46.4%.

The trend since 2019

† DfE changed the collection method between calendar years 2022 and 2023; treat cross-break trend comparisons with care. Bracketed figures are the number of plans each percentage is based on, excluding cases the regulations treat as exceptional. Counting exceptional cases as well, the 2024 figure is 71.4%.

The two statutory clocks

Two deadlines apply to every request. The council must decide whether to carry out an assessment within 6 weeks (regulation 5), and any final plan is due within 20 weeks of the original request (regulation 13).

• Decision within 6 weeks: Bolton decided on time for 96.1% of requests in 2024. England: 84.8%.
• Final plan within 20 weeks: Bolton issued on time for 72.3% of new plans. England: 46.4%, down from 50.3% the year before.
• Waits over a year: 1.1% of plans issued in 2024 took longer than 52 weeks.

Requests and refusals

Bolton received 732 requests for an EHC needs assessment in 2024 and refused to assess in 20.2% of decided cases. The England average refusal rate was 25.2%. A high refusal rate matters when reading the timeliness figure above: a council that refuses more requests is timing the 20-week clock on fewer, often simpler cases.

Demand

Bolton maintained 3,604 EHC plans as at January 2025, up 61% from January 2019. Rising caseloads stretch the same statutory deadlines, which is context for the timeliness figures above, though the duties are unchanged by demand.

When families challenged the council

In 2024, 33 mediation cases and 5 SEND Tribunal appeals related to Bolton's assessment-request decisions. Across England, most decided appeals are found at least partly in the family's favour.

Annual reviews

Every EHC plan must be reviewed at least annually, and the council must give its decision within 4 weeks of the review meeting. In 2024, Bolton held a review meeting for 88.6% of the 2,988 plans where one was due, and gave its decision within 4 weeks in 18.8% of cases (England: 44.4%). 2024 is the first year the DfE collected this data.

Area SEND inspection

What the regulations require

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 set the deadlines on this page: the 6-week decision (regulation 5) and the 20-week final plan (regulation 13), with limited exceptions set out in regulation 13(3). These are duties, not targets. In 2024, Bolton met the 20-week requirement in 72.3% of cases. New to the process? Start with what an EHCP is and how to apply.

The wider system is changing: the government's February 2026 white paper proposes reserving EHCPs for the most complex needs by 2035, with reassessments from September 2029. Nothing changes today, and every deadline above still applies in full. What the SEND reforms actually say.

If a deadline has been missed

• IPSEA's template letters cover chasing a late decision or a late plan.
• Every council funds a free, statutory information and advice service. Search "Bolton SENDIASS" to find yours; it is independent of the council's SEND team.
• GOV.UK explains the complaint and appeal routes, including when mediation applies.

Support while you wait

Many families arrange tutoring while an assessment or plan is delayed. Tutors on Tutorperch set their own rates and you contact them directly.

About this data

Source: DfE "Education, health and care plans", reporting year 2025 (published 2025-06-26), covering calendar year 2024. Inspection outcomes are from the Ofsted and CQC Area SEND management information. Figures describe Bolton as the local authority responsible for EHC plans. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This page is updated when the DfE publishes each annual release.