If you appeal your local authority’s (LA’s) decision to cease to maintain an EHC plan, then your LA will need to explain, with evidence, which legal reason it based its decision on and why your appeal should be dismissed.

At the same time, you should provide evidence showing why the EHC plan must continue. The evidence you will need will depend on the reason your LA based its decision on, and the type of appeal you are bringing.

Please click the links below to jump to the relevant section and find out more about the evidence you may need to support your appeal:

My LA said the EHC plan is no longer necessary 

My LA said it is no longer responsible

Appealing the cease to maintain decision and the contents of the EHC plan

My LA said the EHC plan is no longer necessary 

Your LA can decide to cease to maintain an EHC plan if it considers that the plan is no longer necessary (section 45(1)(b) of the Children and Families Act (CFA) 2014).

LAs are most likely to use this reason when deciding to cease to maintain plans.

On our page when can my LA decide to cease to maintain an EHC plan? page, we explain some of the different situations in which your LA may say an EHC plan is no longer necessary.

If your LA has based its decision on this reason, it will need to show why the EHC plan is no longer necessary. You will want to show why it is still necessary.

The SEND Tribunal must first identify and consider the special educational provision before moving on to considering whether it is no longer required, or what the appropriate setting may be (AB v East Sussex County Council [2024] UKUT 87 (AAC)).

The SEND Tribunal will be interested to see evidence which shows that your child or young person would meet the test for preparing and maintaining an EHC plan in the first place (the EHC plan is necessary). If this test is met, then it will be very hard for your LA to show the plan should cease.

Sources of evidence you could consider using to show why the EHC plan is still necessary include:

• evidence from the school or college setting out, for example, details of the special educational needs (SEN) support available in a mainstream school, college or other setting. You can use this to show that such support would not be sufficient to meet your child or young person’s SEN
• expert reports showing that your child or young person’s SEN or requirements for special educational provision have not changed and that they still require the provision within their EHC plan
•  if your child’s SEN or provision requirements have changed (maybe they need more or a different type of provision), expert reports showing your child or young person’s current SEN or the special educational provision they now require, and that they still need provision through an EHC plan, and
• evidence from your child or young person themselves, from a third party (such as parents or a support worker) if appropriate, about the level of support that they still require and the effect stopping the EHC plan would have on them.

For example, if your LA wants to cease to maintain the EHC plan because it says:

LA reason:	Then:
your child or young person no longer requires special educational provision (for example, because their needs can be met through social care)	you should show with evidence the special educational provision your child or young person requires.  If your child or young person needs health or social care provision which educates or trains them in some way (and is therefore special educational provision), you should include this in your evidence to show special educational provision is still required.  You can ask the school or college to provide a witness statement explaining the provision that is required, and that without an EHC plan your child will not receive the provision they need.  You could also ask the SEND Tribunal to direct another person (such as a speech and language therapist or occupational therapist, for example) to provide information on the special educational provision that is required, using its case management powers.
the support your child or young person requires could be provided without an EHC plan (for example because their needs have changed and could be met at SEN Support level)	you should show what needs your child or young person has and what provision is required to meet those needs. You should also show that your child or young person’s required provision cannot or will not be provided without an EHC plan. If you have evidence that support could be available without an EHC plan but in reality support won’t be put in place (or is unlikely to be) then show this too.
your child or young person has achieved all the outcomes set out in Section E of their EHC plan, and no longer needs to stay in education or training	The fact that outcomes have been achieved does not simply mean the plan must cease. The law says that LAs must have regard to whether they have been achieved.  When looking at whether outcomes have been achieved, the SEND Tribunal must not treat this as a ‘tick box’ exercise and must properly have regard to whether the education or training outcomes specified in the plan have been achieved. If not all the outcomes in the EHC plan have been achieved, you should explain this as this is likely to mean the EHC plan is still necessary. If all the outcomes in Section E have been met but the plan does not contain all the outcomes your child or young person wants to achieve (maybe because the plan is out of date), you should explain this and what outcomes your child or young person does want to achieve.
your child or young person has no more learning progress to make and no longer needs to stay in education or training	you should provide evidence that shows that continued education or training is likely to lead to further achievements or progress.  Future progress does not have to be objectively significant or involve working towards qualifications or employment.  The law does not require a person to be able to reach a certain level of progress or for certain skills to reach a particular level. You should say this in your appeal if your LA says the amount of future progress does not justify the level of provision, or that your child or young person has not achieved a particular skill set.

My LA said it is no longer responsible

Your LA can decide to cease to maintain an EHC plan if it is no longer responsible for your child or young person (section 45(1)(a) of the Children and Families Act (CFA) 2014). Your LA is responsible for your child or young person if:

• they are in the LA’s area, and
• they have been either identified by the LA as someone who has or may have SEN or brought to the LA's attention as someone who has or may have SEN.

On our when can my LA decide to cease to maintain an EHC plan? page, we explain some of the different situations in which your LA may say it is no longer responsible.

If your LA has based its decision to cease to maintain the EHC plan on this reason, it will need to show why it is not responsible. You will also want to show why your LA is still responsible for your child or young person.

For example, if your LA wants to cease to maintain the EHC plan because it says:

LA reason:	Then:
you have started/ are starting at university but are (or will be) taking a level 3 course (and not a level 4 course)	you should explain that your LA remains responsible, because it is the level of the course that is relevant and not the setting that delivers it.  You can use evidence from your course provider as to the level of the course you are on/ due to start and explain why your EHC plan is still necessary.
you have started part-time paid work	you should explain that the EHC plan remains necessary while you continue your education or training part-time. Use evidence to show this. The legal definition of training includes part-time training (section 15ZA Education Act 1996).
you are a young person not in education, training or employment	you should highlight the following:  If you are under 18 and not receiving education or training:  Your LA cannot simply cease the EHC plan in this case. It needs first to have reviewed the EHC plan and amended it where appropriate, to make sure that you continue to receive training. The only time your LA could cease your EHC plan in this situation is if it is no longer necessary for special educational provision to be made for you through your EHC plan (regulation 29 of The SEND Regulations 2014).  Explain what further training you would like and show why your EHC plan is still necessary (for example, because you cannot access the provision you need without it). If you are 18 or over and not receiving education or training at your school or college:  If you have stopped going to the setting named in your EHC plan and aren’t receiving education or training, your LA cannot simply cease your plan.  First it needs to review the plan with you. If you want to go back to education or training and that would be appropriate for you, it must amend your EHC plan as it thinks necessary (regulation 30 of The SEND Regulations 2014).  If you want to go back to education or training you should explain that fact, explain why going back to education or training would be appropriate for you, and show why your EHC plan is still necessary (for example, because you cannot access the provision you need without it).
your child or young person has left the LA’s area	show your child or young person remains habitually resident in the area if they plan to return. Being in an LA’s area may involve physically being present in it, but this isn’t the definitive test. Explain all the relevant facts which show that your LA remains responsible. For example, you could explain the following if relevant: if the move is due to a deployment or secondment overseas as part of a parent’s job the plans made to return to the area after the period of absence if you keep your home during the period of absence and are not selling it if your employer makes any return or ‘keeping in touch’ arrangements for you, enabling you to return to the area, or if your child will continue to receive UK benefits or you will remain a UK tax payer or benefits receiver.

Appealing the cease to maintain decision and the contents of the EHC plan

If you decide to appeal both the decision to cease to maintain the EHC plan and the contents of the plan (so that, if your appeal is successful the EHC plan is up to date and improved), you should provide evidence which shows:

• what changes are needed to Section B (needs)
• what changes are needed to Section F (provision)
• what changes are needed to Section I (placement) (if relevant), and
• why your LA remains responsible and/ or the EHC plan remains necessary (please see above).

If you want to appeal sections B, F and/or I please see our pages on appealing the contents of an EHC plan and appealing the name of the setting for more information on the evidence you could use to support your appeal.

You can also ask the SEND Tribunal to make non-binding recommendations in respect of health and/or social care. Please see our page on asking for health or social care recommendations for more information.

For more information on this topic, see our main advice page on cease to maintain appeals.