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c/o Council for Disabled Children
National Children's Bureau
8 Wakley Street
London EC1V 7QE
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Balls - families must be at heart of 'Aiming High' delivery
27 March 2008
At a packed reception hosted by the Rt Hon Tom Clarke MP in the House of Commons yesterday (Wednesday 26th March), over 50 MPs gathered with disabled children, young people and their families, to mark the beginning of the delivery period for ‘Aiming High for Disabled Children’, the government’s transformation programme for disabled children’s services.
‘Aiming High for Disabled Children’ delivers a funding package of £430 million to be spent by local authorities on services for disabled children during 2008 - 2011. The funding comes on stream on 1st April 2008, alongside ‘new growth funding’ from the Department of Health to be spent by PCTs on services for disabled children and children with palliative care needs.
At the reception, MPs heard from a range of speakers who reflected on their own experience of services and how ‘Aiming High for Disabled Children’ can start to make a difference on the ground for families.
Dinesh Satee, a young man aged 19 with Asperger Syndrome, spoke about the challenges of the transition from child to adult services. Dinish pointed out that despite the many changes he experienced from services when he turned 18, seen as the ‘magic number’, his disability and his need for appropriate support remained unchanged.
Niki Shisler, mother of Felix, a nine year old boy with a rare muscle disorder, emphasised that the biggest challenge for parents is not the ‘nuts and bolts’ of caring for a severely disabled child, but the constant fighting for the things you need. The care package that Felix receives from his PCT allows him to live at home and enjoy family life - this benefits Felix himself, his family and his wider community - as well as significant cost savings for the PCT.
Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, Chair of the Healthcare Commission, said ‘there needs to be a mindshift in the approach to delivering services, and professionals must start listening to parents and young people themselves.’
Steve Broach, Campaign Manager for EDCM said:
‘Despite the huge progress - new funding, a new national target, and most recently a new duty on local authorities to provide services, nothing has yet changed for families on the ground. So the challenge now is to reflect the priority given to disabled children in Westminster and Whitehall, in every local area in England, and in the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
And at the same time as we focus on delivering Aiming High for Disabled Children, we need to keep disabled children high on the agenda in everything the government does for children and families. This must surely be the best chance we have ever had to give families with disabled children the opportunities and life chances other families can take for granted.’
Finally, Ed Balls addressed the reception. The Secretary of State said he recognised that ‘families have had to be patient for a very long time’ and that ‘as of today, nothing has changed.’ However he went on to emphasise that the next phase of delivery is crucial, and three years of new investment can make a real difference.
Ed Balls added:
‘We will only spend the funding well if in every area parents and young people themselves are telling us how… Let us back the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign and use the funding to transform the life chances of disabled children and young people in our country.’
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