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New legislation proposed to offer breaks to parents of disabled children

DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES News Release (2008/0041) issued by The Government News Network on 5 March 2008

The Government has today tabled an amendment to the Children and Young Persons Bill that would create a new duty on local authorities to help parents caring for disabled children by giving them breaks from their caring responsibilities.

Local authorities already have the ability to provide short breaks, under the Children Act 1989 - but in light of the great importance disabled children and their families place on these services - the Government believes that there should be a specific requirement for short break provision.

The new duty comes on top of a major investment by the Government through the Aiming High for Disabled Children programme. £359m has been set aside for local authorities to transform short break provision over the next three years (2008-11), with additional funding being released to Primary Care Trusts over the same period.

While providing an essential service to parents struggling to meet their caring responsibilities, short breaks also give disabled children and young people the opportunity to access enjoyable activities and mix with their peers.

Children, Schools and Families Minister Lord Adonis said:

"Through the investment we are making over the next three years we will transform short break services for disabled children. This legislation will enable us to 'lock-in' the improvements - ensuring that short break services are maintained at a high standard of provision beyond 2011. It will also ensure that short break provision is provided on a preventative basis and not just for crisis intervention."

"We want all families to have the support they need to bring up their children, including disabled children. Earlier this year, we announced substantial funding to provide disabled children with enjoyable and valuable experiences away from their parents and carers. This investment in high quality short break services will give parents and carers the well-earned chance to take a break from caring."

Lord Rix, the President of Mencap, who has put his name to the amendment said:

"This is an important amendment and Regulations will help clarify the new legal duty. Where families with disabled children have full time caring responsibilities, short breaks are essential. Short break services should therefore be on a statutory footing to reflect their vital importance. I am confident my fellow peers will agree on this matter and that we shall see legislative change for disabled children."

Christine Lenehan, Director of the Council for Disabled Children and Board Member of the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign, said:

"This amendment is a historic moment for families with disabled children. For the first time, government is putting the support our families desperately need on a firm legal basis. EDCM and our supporters, in Parliament and outside, have campaigned hard to get this issue up the agenda and Ministers must get the credit for listening and responding."

The amendment will be debated in Report stage of the Bill on the 17th of March.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The amendment was tabled by Lord Rix and Lord Adonis.

2. In January 2008, Education and Care Services Ministers Andrew Adonis and Ivan Lewis announced the start of a three-year transformation in short break services for disabled children. Twenty-one local areas have been selected as a first 'pathfinder' wave in a £359m investment for local authorities that will extend to all of England from 2009.

3. The 21 pathfinder authorities are:

Bradford, Bolton, Bournemouth-Dorset-Poole (joint pathfinder), Brighton, Dudley, Derbyshire, Enfield, Gloucestershire, Gateshead, Halton, Kent, North Yorkshire, North Tyneside, Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Sutton, Sunderland and Telford & Wrekin.

4. Short break services are provided to a disabled child to allow their parent or carer to take a break from caring and to provide the child with enjoyable and valuable experiences away from their parents. They include day, evening, overnight and weekend activities and take place in the child's own home, the home of an approved carer, or any other community setting. A report from a committee of MPs providing evidence for the 'Aiming High for Disabled Children' review found that short breaks are the highest priority service for families with disabled children (Parliamentary Hearings on Services for Disabled Children - Full Report, October 2006).

5. The amendment can be located at http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2007-08/childrenandyoungpersonshl.html

6. Further information on Aiming High for Disabled Children can be found at http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/socialcare/disabledchildren/aiminghigh

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