Audit Commission

“Once you get a service it’s usually quite good – but the problem is getting it. The first problem is knowing about it. The second is persuading someone that you need it. And the third problem is finding someone who can deliver it… - Parent of a disabled child

How should a parent prepare to be told their child is disabled? Or get the equipment their child needs? How can they make sure their child gets the same leisure opportunities as others – and that they get a break away from time to time?

All these topics, and more, are covered in a series of factsheets for families released today by the Audit Commission, alongside its national study Services for Disabled Children and their Families.

Disabled children, parents, siblings and carers often struggle to lead ordinary lives and to get the support and services they need, at the right time. The national study’s main findings include:

• services for disabled children are often a lottery, with provision depending on where you live and how hard parents are able to push
• too little is provided, too late: by the time they get equipment or support children’s needs have often moved on
• services can be a ‘jigsaw puzzle’, with families having to go through many different providers to get the information and support they need
• services are rarely based around the needs of individual families

The factsheets for families give straightforward, commonsense advice on a variety of topics: how to involve young people in decisions; receiving news about your child’s condition; handling contact with the array of professionals you meet; getting the right equipment; access to leisure; getting short breaks away; admissions to hospital, and getting the benefits you’re entitled to.

Even simple things can help - like keeping a diary of all the discussions with health and social services, being prepared for when clinic appointments slip, or getting expensive equipment on trial before committing to it. The factsheets were written for the Commission by Amaze, a charity for parents with disabled children – so it draws on real experiences of families and carers.

Audit Commission Chairman, James Strachan, said:
“Disabled children continue to receive Cinderella services, which not only reduce their life chances but also their families’ quality of life. Improving disabled children’s services does not mean new targets, new structures or wholly new approaches. What is needed is better management of services so that good practice is mainstreamed, the leadership that makes this possible, and a new attitude which sees the social exclusion of disabled children as unacceptable. This report is a clarion call to all public services to work more closely together to offer more effective and co-ordinated services developed in partnership with disabled children and their families.”

The factsheets for families, national report and briefing, and a child-friendly summary of the report, are all available from the Commission’s website on www.audit-commission.gov.uk. It is also available from national charities Scope at www.scope.org.uk; Contact a Family www.cafamily.org.uk; and the Family Fund at www.familyfundtrust.org.uk.

Notes to editors

1. Estimates of disabled children in England and Wales vary between 3% and 16% of young people. The last national survey by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in 1989 estimated there were 360,000 children aged 16 and under in the UK with disabilities (3% of the population).
2. The Audit Commission is an independent body responsible for ensuring that public money is spent economically, efficiently and effectively, to achieve high-quality local and national services for the public. Our work covers local government, housing, health and criminal justice services. As an independent watchdog, we provide important information on the quality of public services. As a driving force for improvement in those services, we provide practical recommendations and spread best practice. As an independent auditor, we monitor spending to ensure public services are good value for money.
3. Further details about the role of the Audit Commission can be obtained from - http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk