- Text Only |
- Site map |
- Print |
- Accessibility
c/o Council for Disabled Children
National Children's Bureau
8 Wakley Street
London EC1V 7QE
tel +44 (0)20 7843 6448
fax +44 (0)20 7843 6313
[email protected]
Government review confirms need for action
9 January 2007
Treasury / DfES policy review highlights gap between need and provision of services for disabled children
Every Disabled Child Matters today welcomes the publication of a discussion paper from the HM Treasury / Department for Education and Skills Policy Review of Children and Young People, which summarises the evidence collected by the review on the current situation for families with disabled children. The paper accepts that there are gaps between need and service delivery for families with disabled children, identifying service areas including childcare, equipment, therapy services and short breaks as insufficiently responsive to need.
The paper identifies key issues for government action, including the need for new incentives to improve services. The paper calls for earlier intervention to improve outcomes and prevent increased costs in later life where younger disabled children receive insufficient support, and highlights the need to ensure that services are better co-ordinated across agencies. The paper concludes with a recognition of the need to address deficiencies in both the ability of the children's workforce to meet the needs of disabled children and their families, and also in the data on disabled children available to managers responsible for planning and commissioning services.
Steve Broach, Every Disabled Child Matters campaign manager, comments:
'We are pleased to see this paper published, as a vital staging post in the Treasury / DfES review of disabled children's services. We are particularly pleased to see the evidence collected through the parliamentary hearings on services for disabled children clearly reflected in the government's paper.'
'The report recogises the benefits that investment in services for disabled children will bring, for children, families and the wider community. It is critical that government is clearly stating that outcomes for disabled children are poorer than those for other children - and that this situation cannot be allowed to continue. Every Disabled Child Matters will persist in calling for new investment in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review to deliver the range of services needed by families with a disabled child in order for them to live ordinary lives.'
Links:
Treasury / DfES Policy Review of children and young people: Discussion paper
Parliamentary hearings on services for disabled children - full report (internal link)
