Legislation for short breaks for disabled children

The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations (2011)

The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations means we are required to provide a range of services to help carers of disabled children continue to provide care or to provide care more effectively by helping them to take short breaks from their caring responsibilities.

These regulations mean we have to consider the needs of carers who would be able to provide care more effectively if they could take breaks from caring to:

• study

• train

• do regular leisure activities

• meet the needs of other children in their family more effectively

• carry out the day-to-day running of their household.

As the Local Authority we must also provide a range of services including day care, overnight care, educational or leisure activities for disabled children and services to assist carers in the evenings, at weekends and during school holidays. We fulfil these obligations by providing universal, targeted and specialist services that enable carers of disabled children to take short breaks from their caring responsibilities.

The regulations do not say Local Authorities have to provide these services to all carers of disabled children and allow us to take into account available resources when deciding the eligibility for these services.

The regulations also say the Local Authority must produce a short breaks services statement setting out:

• the range of local services that help parents or carers take a break from their caring responsibilities

• any eligibility criteria for these services

• how these services have been designed to meet the needs of local carers.

Children Act 1989 and 2004

The Children Act says that we must provide a range of social care services to support children in need. These services might include domiciliary care to help meet personal care needs. The act also requires us to assess and prioritise the way we meet the needs of children in the borough and permits us to use eligibility criteria to take into account available resources when deciding whether to provide services to a child in need.

This means that although the act defines all disabled children as children in need, it does not oblige us to provide services to all disabled children. In relation to short breaks, we fulfil this obligation by providing specialist short break services.

Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970

This act places a duty on us to provide social care services to disabled adults and children. Like the Children Act 1989, this act permits us to use fair and rational eligibility criteria and to take into account available resources when deciding whether or not to provide services to a disabled person. According to the act, after have assessed the needs of a disabled child and the Local Authority has decided we must provide services to meet that child’s needs, we have a duty to provide these services and cannot apply any further eligibility criteria.

Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the Equalities Act 2010

Both the DDA and the Equalities Act say we cannot discriminate against disabled people by treating them less favourably than non-disabled people or by failing to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people can access the same services as non-disabled people. Both acts also oblige us to promote equality when developing strategies and policies and making decisions by paying regard to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and encouraging disabled people to participate in public life.

We fulfil these obligations in relation to short breaks by making reasonable adjustments that allow disabled children to access the universal services that help parents or carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities. Where a child’s additional needs are so great that reasonable adjustments can’t be made, we fulfil our obligations by providing targeted short break services.

Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004

The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act obliges us to provide a range of services to support carers, including those who care disabled children. This act does not oblige us to provide services to all carers in the area although it does give all carers the right to have a carers’ assessment.

We carry out carers’ assessments to identify the additional needs that carers may have and the types of services that might meet them. One of the ways that we support carers of disabled children is by helping them to take short breaks from their caring responsibilities through universal, targeted and specialist short break services.  

Childcare Act 2006

The Childcare Act obliges us to assess and ensure the sufficient provision of affordable childcare for working families, including those with disabled children. This does not mean we must provide childcare to families with disabled children, or that we must provide free or discounted childcare to disabled children. It does mean that we must make sure that affordable childcare is available to working families with disabled children in the area.

National Assistance Act 1948

The National Assistance Act 1948 gives us powers to provide services to disabled people.

The Children and Young People’s Act 1989 and 2008

The Children and Young People’s Act 1989 and 2008 requires us to provide short breaks services that are designed to assist individuals who provide care for disabled children to do so, or to do so more effectively by providing them with breaks from caring.

The Children and Families Act 2014

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires us to assess if parents and carers within their area have support needs and, if so, what those needs are. We must also take reasonable steps to identify the extent to which there are parent carers within the borough who have support needs. The act removes the requirement for carers to provide a substantial amount of care on a regular basis in order to be assessed.

Under the act, we must assess what help the parent needs as soon as we know they might need help to look after a disabled child, or if the parent asks us to. This assessment is called a 'carer’s assessment'. When the assessment is completed, this will determine what help the parent needs, and we have to decide what the Local Authority should do to help them look after their disabled child. This support could be advice, signposting or provision of a service.

Contact the team 

Integrated SEND Services for Children & Young People - Short Breaks Service

Targeted Short Breaks
Rebekah Green: 07341 569895

Targeted Short Breaks
Lucy Cameron: 07918 612639
Rebecca Burford: 07468 709083
Tiffany Curtis 07468709247

Specialist Short Break
Claire Sullivan: 07468 709303
Viviene Allen: 07468 709273
Natalie Baker: 07468 709362

Short Breaks Reviewing Officer
Marianne Johnson: 07920 045899

Admin Apprentice
Charly Harrison: 07901 382958

Email: shortbreaks@lewisham.gov.uk