Decision details

Report of the Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care seeking approval to formally consult on the proposals for a redesigned offer of services for Children with Disabilities as they relate to the previous offer of Short Breaks, the name of the Jigsaw service and the eligibility criteria in Southampton for children with disabilities

(i)  To note the findings from the review which includes the case for change, which is based on evidence from other Local Authorities, engagement with the disabled children’s parent/carer forum, children themselves, providers and professionals. The review presents areas identified for improvement. 

(ii)  To approve the recommendation to proceed to formal consultation on the four proposals outlined above.

(iii)  To note the outcome of the consultation will be reported back to Cabinet and subject to final approval. 

1.  There is a need to ensure access to services is based on fair eligibility criteria across all types of disability, which enables equitable access for children and young people with disabilities and their parents/carers to short breaks and improves legal compliance with Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and Section 17 of the Children Act 1989. Currently only children with moderate to severe learning disabilities known to the Jigsaw team are able to access assessed short breaks and for all children with disabilities access to the Buzz Network offer is on a first come first served basis.  As a result, some children will receive both assessed and Buzz Network short breaks whilst others with similar levels of need may not receive any short break.  This is not equitable and so a clear offer needs to be defined for all types of disability based on levels of need.

2.  To ensure the offer of short breaks is financially sustainable in the future and resources are deployed to achieve maximum benefit across all levels of need.  The current short break offer is delivered as a distinct and separate disabled children's provision at all levels of need.  Providing this high level of offer to all children with disabilities is not financially viable.  Whilst there will always be a need to provide some specialist short break provision, there are undoubtedly benefits of linking other short break activities, particularly at the low and medium levels of need, to broader universal services for children in order to provide greater choice, flexibility and inclusivity

3.  To ensure that the names of services remain relevant and meaningful to families as part of a clear and consistent communication about what services provide and who they are for.

Do Nothing Option is not an option as it fails to meet legal requirements around formal consultation or address the areas identified for improvement. Notably the current approach limits access to the short breaks offer for some children with disabilities. It is based on a financially unsustainable model and not a consistent social care eligibility criteria for access to disabled children’s services in Southampton across the board to assure compliance with S17 or Children Act 1987.