Treat SEND as “critical infrastructure” to stop offshore investors treating vulnerable children as "cash cows"

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

The Liberal Democrats have called for new legal protections for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), to stop offshore investors profiting from vulnerable children.

It comes ahead of the government’s SEND White Paper expected to be published in the coming days.

The Liberal Democrat plans would see SEND provision officially designated as Critical National Infrastructure, a status currently reserved for essential services such as energy, transport, and water. Alongside this, the party would make SEND acquisitions explicitly subject to public interest tests under the Enterprise Act. This would give the government greater powers to oversee acquisitions and mergers in the SEND market, ensuring that public money is spent on children’s education rather than diverted into offshore profits.

Over the past decade, private companies, including large foreign investment funds, have increasingly bought up SEND schools and services. The most egregious example is Witherslack Group, owned through a majority stake by Mudbala Capital, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, which made an operating profit of £44.6 million from August 2024 to August 2025 - with a profit margin of over 20%. While Aspris Limited, owned by Waterland Private Equity, raked in £22.9 million in profit in the year up to August 2024.

FOI data commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows that local authority spending on private SEND provision has soared tenfold in some areas since 2015. The consequences are severe. Vulnerable children lose out on support as profit becomes the priority, public money is diverted overseas rather than reinvested into local education, and transparency is limited, making it difficult to hold investors accountable.

By designating SEND provision as Critical National Infrastructure, government oversight would increase, with any proposed merger or acquisition subject to scrutiny under the Enterprise Act. The Secretary of State would be able to intervene if a deal threatens the public interest. Children’s education would be protected, with decisions focused on the quality of care and educational outcomes rather than investor returns. Offshore profiteering would be curbed, and transparency and accountability would improve as providers operate openly and ensure public funds are used for their intended purpose.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said:

“I know what it’s like to have to navigate the bureaucratic quagmire of the SEND system all too well.

“No parent wants to see their child’s education suffer while private equity firms cash in on a broken system.

“Liberal Democrats would introduce new protections to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent on frontline services for children, not lining the pockets of offshore investors.

“We cannot allow this rigged racket to drag on any longer. Our children and parents deserve better.”

Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, Munira Wilson MP, said:

“It is a scandal that our most vulnerable children are being treated like cash cows by offshore investors.

“SEND provision deserves to be treated as critical national infrastructure, to ensure our children’s education is prioritised and prevent public money being funnelled away to offshore companies.

“The current system simply fails to prioritise the very children it is designed to help, all while private SEND providers rake in record profits and squeeze council coffers dry.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Our FOI to councils showing their expenditure on private SEND provision can be seen here

Please see the research by the House of Commons Library here:

• Outcomes First Group (Oasis Topco 1 limited): Only available for the year to 31 August 2024 when turnover was £264.3 million and operating profit 7.1 million.
• Aspiris Holdco limited: Turnover was £192.5 million and operating profit £19.2 million in the year to August 2023. Turnover was £194.2 million and operating profit £20.9 million in the following year.
• Witherslack Group Limited: Turnover was £172.8 million and operating profit £34.8 million in the year to August 2024. Turnover was £208.0 million and operating profit £44.6 million in the following year.
• Cavendish Education: The accounts for none of the six companies with ‘Cavendish Education’ in their name at the same address as that given for Cavendish Education Limited match the figures given in the article for 2021 or 2022.
• CareTech Holdings Limited: Revenue was £574.6 million and operating profit £12.2 million in the year to September 2023. Revenue was £630.4 million and operating profit £53.4million in the following year.