Agenda item
Short breaks provision
The committee will receive an oral update on how the provision for respite centres has been tackled and resolved.
Minutes:
Neil Macdonald (Interim Head of Service Children’s Commissioning) delivered a presentation to the committee on short breaks provision for Children with Disabilities in Brent. The committee was advised that the new Village short breaks centre was now open and had received its first children for respite care on 8 February 2013. The centre replaced the service previously provided at Clement Close and delivered services for children and young people with a range of needs including those on the autistic spectrum, those with complex or specific health needs, those with a physical disability and/or learning disability and children with sensory impairments. The centre was registered to provide short breaks for up to 8 children, double the capacity of Clement Close. The council was currently exploring how best to use this additional capacity. It was intended that a bed would be made available to provide emergency respite care and consideration was currently being given to selling bed space to neighbouring boroughs. In order to ensure that the service was meeting the needs of the children, a parent and professionals advisory group had been established and would meet quarterly to provide feedback and contribute to service planning and delivery. There would also be statutory monthly monitoring visits conducted.
In the subsequent discussion the committee raised several issues. Clarification was sought regarding the purpose and benefits of short break provision. It was noted that both parents and children might find separation, even for a short period, distressing and a query was raised on how such issues might be dealt with. Further details were sought regarding the additional bed capacity, the potential income that this might generate and whether any consideration was being given to making the after school and day care facilities available to other boroughs. The committee also queried whether any Brent children were receiving out of borough short break provision.
Neil Macdonald advised that short break services provided respite to parents and a break for the children where they were able to socialise with peers and take part in activities that wouldn’t be open to them at home. Short break provision enabled children to have periods of independence from their families in a safe enjoyable environment and at the same time helped to relive pressure on families. It was a voluntary resource and families could choose whether to make use of it. Day care and after school facilities were also offered at the centre and these might be more appropriate for children or families anxious about overnight separation. The amount of hours allotted to a child was dependent on their assessed need. Most children receive between 2 and 3 nights per month which would often be taken as a weekend session at regular intervals so that families could plan for them.
Turning to the queries regarding the additional capacity, Neil Macdonald explained that this issue was currently being explored. It was likely that there would be at least one bed that could be made available to other authorities. It was not intended to open up the day care or after school club to other authorities as it was not convenient for families to access such services at a considerable distance to their homes. The charge that could be made to other local authorities for one bed was between £400 and £450 per night; however, a relationship could be established with one authority with a charge being made for reserving a bed. It was highlighted that no respite centre would run at full capacity. The committee was further advised that there had been 6 children accessing short break provision out of the borough within the current financial year. Those cases would be reviewed to explore whether it would be appropriate to transfer them to in-borough provision; however the impact on the child would be the primary consideration.
The committee requested that a report regarding actions taken with respect to the additional capacity of the centre be brought to a meeting of the committee in six months’ time.
RESOLVED:
That the presentation be noted.