Until then, it is unclear how the government will manage the struggle between rising Send needs and ballooning costs.

Cllr Matthew Hicks, chair of the County Councils Network, said the government’s commitment on Send spending was a “positive step in limiting councils’ exposure to unsustainable expenditure”, but said there was still uncertainty over what would happen to council Send debts accrued before 2028.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) general secretary Pepe Di’Iasio said any fall in school spending “would clearly have a catastrophic impact on educational provision”.

“It is imperative that the government sets out how it intends to address this issue as a matter of urgency,” he added.

The National Education Union (NEU) has said it will consider strike action if the concerns around school funding are not addressed, with an executive meeting on Saturday planned to “decide next steps”.

Anna Bird, chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership, said there was a “lack of clarity” about how Send costs will be met, adding that she was “concerned that the government is unrealistic about the amount of time it will take to turn round the Send system”.

Luke Sibieta, from the independent thinktank the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the government had three main options for addressing the Send funding gap:

Slowing the growth in Send spending through reforms – “though changes will take time to be felt”

Topping up the overall schools budget

Reducing mainstream school funding to pay for high needs funding

The government has recently pushed back its white paper setting out Send reforms until the new year, saying it will take more time to consult with parents and other groups.

The government is under pressure from backbench Labour MPs not to cut Send provision, and avoid a similar backlash to the one in response to proposed welfare cuts earlier this year.

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott told BBC Politics Live the government “has got to be honest” about where the £6bn to pay additional Send costs will come from.

“Either it’s going to be a cut to schools, or it’s going to be a cut from the Send budget,” she said.

Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson said the £6bn funding gap was “a damning indictment of this government’s failure to get a grip on the system”, adding that ministers “must not solve this crisis by raiding the budgets of mainstream schools”.

The National Audit Office described the wider Send system as “broken” in a wide-ranging report last year, and said it was “not delivering positive outcomes for children and young people” despite huge increases in funding.