STRIKE action over the last two weeks by Wirral Council staff is reportedly having an “unfortunate impact” on families. The local authority said negotiations are ongoing to try and resolve the dispute after it was accused of being “more interested in its public image than the actual issues” by the National Education Union (NEU).

During an education committee meeting on November 27, Cllr Judith Grier asked about the impact of ongoing industrial action by Wirral Council staff in its special education, needs and disability (SEND) services. The NEU strike is in its second week and is due to end on November 29 but has been supported by some parents whose children have SEND.

It follows industrial action taken in October over several days due to a dispute related to reduced pay as part of a restructure as well as working conditions. Staff on strike said their working conditions were worse than ever with a stressful working environment and high workload pressures as some reportedly handle more than 100 education, health and care plans (EHCPs) at once.

These plans outline a child’s needs in school and what they are entitled to be provided with to enable their education. Currently, the council is seriously delayed in issuing these plans within the required 20 weeks with only 15% currently completed on time.

Interim head of SEND Adrian Leach said the industrial action and particularly the more recent strike action over two weeks “has had an unfortunate impact where some families won’t have been able to get the contact they were looking for and the progress they were looking for.”

He said they had been in negotiations with the NEU over the last couple of weeks and they were not aware of any dates for further strikes. The council has been accused of not coming to the table and “paying lip service” by the union.

The issue of EHCPs was regularly raised throughout the meeting, which is one of the key measures the Department for Education is watching the council on as it tries to comply with an improvement notice issued earlier this year. This said if the council had not made enough progress by October 2025, it could face possible government intervention.

A report on SEND services said 83% of targets in ten areas had been achieved with three areas now considered “business as usual.” However two areas revolving around EHCPs and school support have not made progress which the council argues “require time for new structures and approaches to be fully embedded.”

The council has a target of three quarters of EHCPs being completed in 20 weeks but the latest figures for October show this is 15% with no significant progress since April. Mr Leach said the council was looking to bring overall waiting times down in order to eventually meet this target.

He also said a new team of staff brought in in January is expected to help improve this further though there would be a delay. With the 20 week target for plans, he said councillors would likely see an improvement in the figures by May 2025.