South Glocs Council fails to give respite for families of SEND kids
The Local Government Ombudsman found 30 households under the local authority's jurisdiction weren't entitled to the right amount of respite
Almost a third of families with special needs children in South Gloucestershire who need vital respite care have been failed by the council, a damning report has found.
The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has published a public interest report – indicating a high level of serious failings – after the local authority admitted 30 households were not receiving some or any of their entitlement to a break from looking after their child.
The watchdog launched a fresh inquiry after upholding a complaint in August from the parents of a disabled girl that the council had not provided respite care for 13 months.
In that case, the LGO ordered the authority to pay £6,000 compensation after concluding the failings had caused “significant physical and emotional consequences” for the child and her family.
In response to the public interest report, the council has apologised and said it is taking urgent action to address the problems.
The ombudsman’s investigation found a youngster assessed as needing a 52-week residential placement was instead living at home with limited support.
Respite care allows families of children and young people with specific needs the chance to take a break from their caring responsibilities.
The failure to provide the agreed support packages can cause huge difficulties and distress.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Paul Najsarek, said: “For too long families in South Gloucestershire have been struggling without the vital respite support they need, and the indications we have from the council suggest for many there is no sign of this improving in the near future.
“While we recognise the difficulties the council is having finding appropriate support locally, it should not have taken a complaint to us to spur them into more effective action.
“Statutory guidance is clear – if a council is satisfied it is necessary to provide support services then it must provide them and have the provision in place to do so.
“I am pleased the council is working towards improving its breadth of provision and hope the rigorous local oversight it has now agreed to implement will ensure this work is not allowed to drift.”
The LGO added: “The failure to provide the agreed support packages in full has the potential to cause significant difficulties and distress to the children/young people and their families who are likely to struggle to cope without it.
“It should not have taken the initial complaint to us for the council to recognise the extent of the problem it was facing and take appropriate action to begin to resolve the issues.”
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson said: “We sincerely apologise for the shortcomings in the service we’ve been able to provide to these young people and their families. We also fully accept the findings and recommendations of the ombudsman.
“Since the ombudsman carried out its investigation, we have been able to provide support to more families, to either fully or partially deliver the respite care and positive experiences needed for their children.
“We are not yet able to fully deliver for all of our families, however, and we have an action plan in place that will be discussed at Cabinet level next month, to help to address the outstanding issues and enable us to meet our commitments.
“Since the original complaint was made, we have introduced much better systems and processes that will make a lasting difference to children and young people in future.
“Like councils across the country, we are facing a major challenge in accessing the support packages to suit each family’s individual needs. This is often far less a matter of cost and more that the services simply do not currently exist on the scale required. We are committed to doing everything that we can to deliver for all of our families and young people who need this support, however, and will continue to discuss with them individually not only their needs, but also their experiences of the help which is provided so that we can continue to make improvements.”