DEPARTMENT FOR
CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES News Release (2007/0234) issued by
The Government News Network on 8 December 2007
-Cash Announced
Through Children's Plan-
Disabled children will get better quality short breaks to
experience new things and give their parents some time off, thanks
to a £45million fund to be announced by Secretary of State for
Children Schools and Families, Ed Balls at the End Child Poverty
event on Monday.
The money will build on the Government's long term strategy
Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families
which is backed by £340m over the next three years from the DCSF,
announced in the Spring. The ambition is to transform in services
for families with disabled children by 2011.
The money will help the public, private and voluntary sector
providers improve equipment, transport and facilities for
short-breaks and enable more inclusive breaks, where severely
disabled children and young people can take part in activities
with their non-disabled peers.
Disabled young people are also to receive £8.4million in extra
support. As part of the Children's Plan, low income families
with disabled young people aged 16 and 17 will be able to access a
grant, through the Family Fund.
The Family Fund is the country's largest charitable provider
of grants to disabled children and a leading player in the fight
against poverty among disabled children. They make grants for
items related to the child's needs such as home appliances,
family holidays, driving lessons, computers, clothing and bedding.
The DCSF already provides £23million annually through the Family
Fund to help families with children under 16. It is estimated that
the new funding will result in more than 16,000 grants over the
next three years.
The Family Fund is a charitable organisation which provides
grants to families with severely disabled children, based on the
families' needs.
On improving the provision of short breaks for disabled children
Ed Balls said:
"We want every child to have the opportunity to be happy and
achieve, no matter their background or the challenges they face.
This is all part of the ethos enshrined in the Children's
Plan. This funding renews our commitment to providing valuable
breaks for both disabled children and their families. I know from
the many parents I have spoken to about this that this is
something that really matters to them.
"The public, private and voluntary sectors have a key role
to play. They must come together to offer real choice for families
with disabled children."
On the extra money for the Family Fund, Ed Balls said:
"Providing low income families with a tailored package of
support is all part of the philosophy of the Children's Plan
and part of our drive to end child poverty. Now grants will be
available not only to families with severely disabled children
under the age of 16, but to16 and 17 year-olds as well."
Marion Lowe, Chief Executive of the Family Fund, said:
"Teenagers are expensive for all families but especially for
those with disabled children, who cost three times as much to
bring up. The extra £8.4m will enable the Family Fund to keep
families with severely disabled children aged 16 and 17 from
falling into the debt-poverty trap. At the moment, when our
grants stop, many families are driven into debt, which they find
hard to pay off as they are caring unpaid for their disabled child."
The DCSF, together with the Devolved Administrations - provides
core funding to the UK-wide Family Fund. With annual DCSF funding
of £23m per annum, the Fund distributed 38,857 grants to
low-income families in England in 2006-07.
NOTES TO EDITORS
* £45 million for short breaks is capital funding, the break-down
is: 5/15/25m over 2008-11. This builds of commitments made in May
as part of Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for
Families. http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2007_0085
* A joint HM Treasury and Department for Education and Skills
report, Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for
Families has examined how to improve outcomes and life chances of
disabled children through the development of effective and
accessible services for disabled children (0-19) and their families.
* The report Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support
for Families is available on the Treasury website at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spending_review/spend_csr07/reviews/cyp_review/cypreview_index.cfm
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* As part of the Children's Plan an extra £8.4m will be made
available over the next three years, to 2010-11 for families with
disabled children under the age of 18. Previously, only families
with children under 16 are able to apply for the grant.
* The grants will be delivered through the Family Fund. For more
information on their work go to: http://www.familyfund.org.uk/
* There are around 570,000 disabled children in England. Around
100,000 disabled children are severely disabled.
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