Children with disabilities and SEN will be “at the heart” of the Government’s plans for children and young people, claimed Children and Families Minister Sarah Teather during a speech in July.
Speaking at the launch of the latest Every Disabled Child Matters campaign briefing, the Minister announced that, following consultations with parents, young people and those working with children with SEN and disabilities, a Green paper tackling issues raised will be published in the autumn. “Disabled children are at the heart of this coalition Government”, said Ms Teather. “We want to make sure that the most vulnerable children get the best quality of support and care.”
Regulations detailing local authority (LA) obligations to provide breaks for carers under the 2008 Children and Young Person’s Act are also due to be made public later this year. While the Government has committed to ring-fencing funding to LAs under the Aiming High for Disabled Children programme for 2010/11, critics of the current administration fear that the scheme may suffer from budgetary cuts in the longer term.
