I was surprised to read what you wrote there, as in our authority, the LA give funding to the school to allow them to offer the suipport the Statement offers.
Then I did a quick Google and I found this...
Has increased SEN delegated funding led to fewer statements?
Roger Inman looks at the friction between the law and new ways of providing for learning difficulties in the mainstream
The law on assessment and statementing has changed very little since 1981. Local authorities (LAs) should identify, assess and, where necessary, provide statements for pupils with the most severe learning difficulties.
The theory
Once a statement has been issued, the LA has a clear and non-delegable duty under the Education Act 1996 to arrange the provision in that statement ? even if the pupil's school fails to do so. Parents have a right to be involved in arrangement of provision, and LAs have the chief responsibility for dialogue with parents over the entitlement.
The reality
But many schools have seen LAs introduce extensions to their schemes for delegating SEN funding and responsibilities. These schemes:
?aim to delegate as much of the SEN budget to schools as possible to give schools more flexibility in making SEN provision
?result in fewer statements and less detail on provision in the statements that do exist
?shift responsibility for managing parental expectations to schools. In practice parents lose their rights to dialogue with LAs, and appeal to the special educational needs and disability tribunal (SENDIST)
There has also been a decrease in special school places, so that maintained schools admit more children with more severe SEN, and see fewer statements.
I suppose you are in one of those authorities that are playing fast and loose with the budget 
.
Have you been in touch with SOS!SEN, or even your local Parent Partnership?