Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of provision for out of school provision for disabled children by City of York Council.

Local authorities, including City of York council, have a statutory duty ensure there are sufficient childcare places for working parents in their area with children aged 0-14, or up to 18 for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Parents may contact their local Family Information Service who can give advice on childcare providers in their area: https://www.yor-ok.org.uk/families/FIS/family-information-service.html.

We have prioritised these settings remaining open for all children, including those with SEND, throughout the COVID-19 outbreak and continue to encourage schools to offer this provision. The department has issued guidance to providers in this area to ensure they can continue to operate whilst reducing transmission of COVID-19, alongside accompanying guidance for parents and carers. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-of-children-attending-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Short breaks services for children with SEND, sometimes known as respite care, allow young people to develop skills, wider social networks and independence. They also give parents a much needed rest from caring responsibilities. That is why in April 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.

Additionally, councils will be funded £30 million for the next three years to set up more than 10,000 additional respite placements, helping to provide positive opportunities for disabled children and young people.

While it is for individual authorities to decide what level and type of short break support to offer, and to set their own eligibility criteria, they have received help from central government in meeting their statutory duties through an investment of £800 million between April 2011 and March 2015 in un-ringfenced grants. In each of 2011-12 and 2012-13, an additional £40 million in un-ringfenced capital funding was made available for short breaks to allow them to invest in additional equipment and infrastructure.