Rachel has issued the following response to constituents who have contacted her about disabled children.
I appreciate the various concerns raised with me about disabled children and their families and I strongly agree that they should receive the support they need to lead fulfilling lives and be part of their community. I would like to assure my constituents that the Children and Families Act 2014 was introduced to address many of the issues you have raised.
I acknowledge that short breaks are vital for many families. Local authorities must provide a range of short break services to help carers continue to provide effective care, and must set them out in a short breaks statement. I am encouraged that between April 2015 and March 2016 the Department for Education awarded over £250,000 to the Short Breaks Partnership to provide information and advice to those involved in designing, commissioning, providing, and taking up short breaks for disabled children.
Short breaks are of course only a small part of the support families with disabled children need. Measures require local authorities and local health services to commission education, health and social care (EHC) services jointly. Local authorities must also publish a clear and easy to understand 'local offer' of EHC services to support children with disabilities, and their families. This meets a concern on the part of many families that they have to battle to find out about the support that is available and where to get it.
As such, Ministers are working hard to increase childcare for disabled children, and it must be included in the 'local offer'. The wider childcare reforms will particularly benefit families with disabled children. For example, through tax-free child care, parents of disabled children get double the allowance of other families.
Therefore, you can rest assured that supporting disabled children, and their families, is of the utmost priorities.
Date published: 16 January 2018.
As with all items in the FAQ Library, answers are subject to modification as events and circumstances change and evolve. If you would like an answer that is more specific to your circumstances, or to seek and up-to-date response, please email rachel.maclean.mp@parliament.uk.
