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Funding and Grants

A total funding package of £370 million has been allocated by the Department for Children, Schools and Families for 2008-11 for short breaks. This comprises £280 million in revenue funding announced in May 2007, along with £90 million in capital funding announced with the Children's Plan in December 2008.
 
Local authority allocations are supported by significant additional funding for Primary Care Trusts from NHS allocations.
 
The 21 pathfinder sites have been identified to take forward best practice in the provision of short break services. These pathfinder sites have significant new funding to improve services from April 2008. Other English local authorities, able to demonstrate certain minimum standards of practice, will receive significant new funding for short breaks from April 2009.
 
For a copy of the letter from DCSF to local authority Chief Executives, Directors of Children’s Services and finance contacts 7 February 2008, click here.
 
For more funding information, go to http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/IG00319/

The Memorandum of grant (MoG) sets out the terms and conditions of short break funding.
 

 News

Ailing play scheme wins huge support
21/08/2008

THERE seems a bright future now for the Ashbourne Playaway Playscheme. After the News Telegraph highlighted the desperate need for new helpers to maintain this holiday scheme for disabled and special needs children, the organiser has been flooded with offers, along with financial assistance. The Playscheme is particularly grateful to the main funder, Aiming high for Disabled Children, which has grant aided the scheme.

Source: Ashbourne News Telegraph

Professionals who work with disabled or disadvantaged children are being invited to apply for grants to help them travel abroad to learn new skills
20/08/2008

Professionals who work with disabled or disadvantaged children are being invited to apply for grants to help them travel abroad to learn new skills. Further details about the Lady Allen of Hurtwood Travel Awards can be found within the link above.

Source: Lady Allen of Hurtwood memorial Trust

Share of £187,000 for families with disabled children
12/08/2008

Free support workshops for disabled children and their parents will be taking place in the West Midlands thanks to a grant of nearly £187,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.

Source: Birmingham Post

Letter to LAs confirming Sure Start Grant allocations
09/07/2008

The following letter 'Three Year Allocations Arising From the Children's Plan'. was sent to LA Chief Executives and LA Finance Contacts. The letter provides details to LAs of their allocations for a range of initiatives. This includes additional funding of £35 million for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11 to develop projects to improve access to childcare for disabled children and young people and to reduce attitudinal barriers. The Disabled Children’s Access to Childcare (DCATCH) programme will, in 2008-09, have a first wave of 10 LAs.

Source: DCSF website

 FAQs
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What is the money for?
The money is to help local authorities and their Primary Care Trust partners create access to short break provision through providing new equipment, adaptations and facilities. Local partners will need to consider how to use the new capital funding within their wider strategic planning for short break services, and in combination with other capital funding sources - including those relating to play and youth facilities set out in the Children’s Plan.
What will disabled children and their families see change as a result of this capital funding?
A range of things. We anticipate adaptations to carer’s homes to enable them to provide breaks for severely disabled children to feature heavily within local partners planning. Adaptations to venues such as children's centres, youth clubs and leisure centres are also expected, for example through adding equipment such as paediatric hoists which enable children to fully engage in a range of activities. We also expect some of the money to be spent on accessible vehicles to transport children to break venues and small building programmes where extra short break facilities will be added to existing venues. These should be developed as an integral part of short breaks strategy and compliment current provision. In areas with larger capital allocations, local partners may also wish to create substantial building projects - for example establishing adapted property that foster-carers could use to provide overnight breaks.
How will the capital money be allocated?
The funding will be allocated to local authorities - although its use should be subject to joint-consideration with their Primary Care Trust partners. The DCSF will set out further information on how local authorities can access the funding in the New Year.
When will it be available?
Some capital funding will be available from April 2008, although expenditure will rise over the 2008-11 period.
What support will there be to enable local partners to make good use of the money?
We are exploring how best to put in place national support arrangements for local partners in delivering the transformation of short break services. Local authorities will not require support in providing many of the expected adaptations and in making equipment available, but for larger build projects we will consider how best to help local partners manage their projects and gain excellent resulting facilities.
Aren’t local authorities supposed to have accessible premises already?
Disability legislation requires local authorities to make reasonable adjustments to secure access for the disabled. The money should be used to secure changes over and above such adjustments.

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