Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 55
55
Accepted
Disabled children are overlooked in social care, lacking access to essential short breaks.
Conclusion
Too often, disabled children are overlooked in the social care system. Parents struggle to understand and access the support available and face a confusing “postcode lottery” of support between local authorities. There is an urgent need to improve access to short breaks, respite care and holiday provision; it is unacceptable that over half of parents are unable to access the short breaks and respite services that they need. (Conclusion, Paragraph 141)
Government Response Summary
The government referenced an existing 2011 statutory duty on local authorities to provide short breaks and noted that a Short Breaks Innovation Programme concluded in March 2025, with a report due in autumn 2025. It largely described existing frameworks and past initiatives without committing to new urgent actions to address unmet needs.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
In 2011, the Government introduced a statutory duty for all local authorities to provide a range of short breaks, to meet local needs. The duty also requires them to consult upon and publish a short breaks duty statement which sets out clearly what is available locally and how it can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria. Local authorities will primarily fund this statutory duty via core social care budgets, and it is for individual authorities to decide what level and type of short break support to offer, and to set their own eligibility criteria. Between April 2022 and March 2025, the Department ran The Short Breaks Innovation Programme. This enabled pilot local authorities to innovate their approach to short breaks to maximise impact, efficiencies and to address currently unmet needs. We will publish a report to disseminate lessons learned from the programme in autumn 2025.