Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to support disabled children and their parents in (a) Slough and (b) the South East who have felt socially isolated as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

We are looking carefully at how we can support disabled children and their families across the whole country, including in Slough and the South East. During 2020/21 we allocated £3.6 million to voluntary sector organisations nationally to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of autistic people, people with a learning disability, disabled people, including disabled children and their families impacted by COVID-19, by funding services providing direct, practical support. The funding covered services offered throughout the pandemic including supporting the emotional and mental wellbeing of disabled people through online courses and wellbeing calls to reduce isolation, as well as learning and play opportunities specifically for disabled children.