§ Baroness Howe of Idlicoteasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many disabled children live with their families; and how many in residential care; and [HL7]
What is the number of disabled children in the United Kingdom. [HL6]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys research published in 1989 estimated that overall there were 360,000 children under the age of 16 in Great Britain who had one or more disabilities.
Of these, the survey estimated that 91.2 per cent of these children lived with their parents, 0.6 per cent with other relatives, 2.4 per cent in foster homes and 4.4 per cent attending boarding schools either as termly or weekly boarders, while 1.5 per cent lived in communal establishments. (NB. Does not add to 100 per cent owing to rounding.)
The Children's National Service Framework (NSF)External Working Group developing standards for disabled children is considering as part of its work how best to improve the statistical information available on disabled children.
§ Baroness Howe of Idlicoteasked Her Majesty's Government:
What support services and financial help are provided for families with disabled children living at home; whether these services take account of the extra cost of caring for a disabled child; and whether these services are available uniformly throughout the United Kingdom. [HL10]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathA wide range of family support services is provided by the local authorities and the health service. Services include advice, guidance and counselling; short-term breaks; day care; home help; domiciliary care; nursing and medical support; social events and outings for parents and children; child care and family centres. The Government, through various programmes, including implementation of the NHS Plan and Quality 77WA Protects, are working to tackle inequalities and reduce unacceptable variations in NHS and social services provision. We are also increasing funding specifically for families of disabled children. Through the Quality Protects programme we have earmarked funding of £60 million over three years for services to disabled children. Next year this funding doubles from £15 million to £30 million.
There is also a range of welfare benefits available to families to help with the additional costs of caring for disabled children, depending on their individual circumstances. These include disability living allowance and invalid care allowance. In addition, the Government fund the Family Fund Trust (FFT) which supports families of severely disabled children under 16 with grants for items such as holidays and leisure breaks, washing machines and tumble dryers, bedding and clothing. The FFT operates throughout the United Kingdom. The Government are funding the charity Contact a Family to run a free national telephone help and advice line for disabled children, parents and carers.