Why we have come together:
- Disabled children, young people and their families in Scotland have not had a high enough priority on political and public agendas, which have failed to prioritise sufficiently or in some settings recognise their specific needs. Without addressing these needs the Government will exclude this group of Scotland’s citizens from the wealthier and fairer, healthier, safer and stronger smarter and greener country that we are all working towards.
- The concordat between the Scottish and Local governments means that the extra £34 million received by Scotland as part of this year’s financial settlement, which was a result of the campaigning of disabled children, young people and their families, will not be ring-fenced for this group. There is great concern that the removal of ring-fencing from local authority settlements will make the situation worse and not better.
- There has been some positive policy progress in Scotland in recent years, and we now encourage Scotland’s politicians and policy-makers to make good the commitment to get it right for every child.
FSDC are keen to work with the Government to ensure that the needs and priorities of Scotland’s disabled children, young people and their families are understood and reflected in the National Performance Framework, and the development and monitoring of the Single Outcome Agreements with local authorities
What we want to see:
- Mechanisms in place to monitor local delivery and ensure that services for disabled children, young people and their families are delivered to a high standard in support of the Government’s national priorities.
- An improvement in the provision of, and access to, quality short breaks to prevent the long term costs of family breakdown
- Increasing and improving provision for periods of transition, when young people move through different phases of their lives, for example from children’s to adult services so that young disabled people have access to further education, training and employment opportunities, and appropriate services to help them move towards greater independence
- Improved access to better quality, affordable and appropriate childcare provision to enable families to return to work
- A review of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 to ensure that it meets the particular needs of disabled children and young people, and supports them to achieve their potential
Action so far:
As a result of extensive parliamentary lobbying and the high profile cross party support that we received, representatives of the FSDC Campaign met with the First Minister in January of this yea. Our discussion centred around the additional money awarded to Scotland as a result of new funding from Westminster to improve services for disabled children and their families in England. Under the Barnet formula Scotland was awarded £34 million.
At a subsequent meeting with the Minister for Children and Early Years, the Government advised that they had appointed an official to act as the key contact for issues around disabled children, young people and their families. They also agreed to fund a Liaison Officer to work for the FSDC and alongside the Scottish Government in order to monitor services for families both at a national and local level, and ensure that the interests of disabled children, young people and their families are heard and responded to.
A consultation on amendments to the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 was carried out earlier this year, and a full analysis report of the responses is expected soon. There is no intention to change the thrust or ethos of the 2004 Act, the amendments proposed in the consultation aim to strengthen the rights of children with additional support needs and their parents.
As this Bill progresses there will also be a review of the regulations around the 2004 Act, such as the Code of Practice. FSDC will be contributing to this review, highlighting the views and experiences of disabled children, young people and their families and calling for changes to ensure that their needs are met.