Year-plus delays to the rollout of special educational needs (SEN) places in Warwickshire's mainstream schools have been questioned by councillors.

Education authority Warwickshire County Council has in recent years ramped up the volume of resourced provisions – specialised sections within mainstream schools to accommodate SEN children – to meet demand, drive down costs associated with sending children to private provision and reduce travel distances and costs that impact on a rising home-to-school transport bill.

A year-end performance report showed that an ahead-of-schedule rollout of such places had contributed to 42.1 per cent of Warwickshire children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) being taught in resourced provisions – "an all-time highest figure for Warwickshire".

It states that the authority "continues to deliver new specialist resource provisions ahead of schedule" with the option "increasingly being seen as a provision of choice by parents", and while it acknowledges that "more provision is still required in secondary level" that the council is a prioritising work on that front.

However, work to put in such places and/or school expansions has been delayed at a number of schools across the county with opposition councillors citing St John's Primary School, Kenilworth, and North Leamington School, Leamington.

A £6 million project at St John's Primary is set to add 200 extra school places and a 14-placed resourced provision but work has yet to begin despite the initially being earmarked for completion in 2024.

North Leamington is a secondary school with its 20-place provision consulted on in March this year.

Addressing the most recent meeting of cabinet, Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Sarah Boad said: "It is really important to get that provision in.

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"It will save us money in the long run and children will be educated much closer to where they live which will save on the home-to-school transport budget.

"There are lots of win-win situations on this but we are seeing delays in a lot of the locations where places are supposed to have been provided.

"North Leamington has been delayed by a year, St John's longer than that – can we have an update on when you expect these places to be delivered and the effect on the capital programme?"

New deputy leader and portfolio holder for property and finance Cllr James Crocker replied: "Councillor Boad actually raises some questions that I asked officers. You raise fair points.

"The answer is very often the sheer planning and procurement timescales are very difficult to manage and control.

"I know officers are trying their best, I am certainly keen to get close to this to make sure we see progress and deliver.

"I am very happy to work with fellow councillors to try to help in doing that. Sometimes we rely on help from districts and boroughs and that would sometimes be helpful in moving things along."

More light was shed on the situation at St John's later in the meeting, albeit as part of a tetchy and somewhat unrelated exchange.

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Cllr Richard Dickson discussed the environmental implications listed in a report on the council's separate Local SEND Reform Plan.

He argued that "all things connect" and that the plan's outcomes, including shorter and fewer journeys for children currently attending provision farther afield, would mean "fewer vehicles on the road and fewer potholes, CO2 emissions should be down".

Addressing portfolio holder for children and families, education and SEND Cllr Wayne Briggs, he asked: "There is a direct link between what is planned and impact on the environment – would you agree with me on that?"

Cllr Briggs replied: "That was a party political broadcast by the Liberal Democrats.

"Of course I agree with that. We want to reduce home-to-school transport and we have said we want to do things like that in a common sense way, so you have to be realistic.

"St John's, it comes up all the time. I believe you are getting a weekly update, it is a planning dispute that we are doing as much as we can (about) at the moment.

"Why wouldn't I want a new SEN provision to open in Kenilworth? It doesn't make any sense. I don't know what the accusation is there."