The Disabled Children's Partnership, which consists of 60 charities, said the underfunding is leaving children and families in England struggling to get the help and support they need and will cost taxpayers more in the long run.
Most of the shortfall is in NHS services including money to pay for drug treatments and visits to GPs or accident and emergency departments. The partnership said the money available for these services are underfunded by an estimated £1.1bn a year. In addition, local authority social care services for disabled children face a £434m annual shortfall.
The funding shortfall was calculated following research conducted on behalf of the partnership by consultancy Development Economics. The estimate is based on information gathered from Freedom of Information requests, a questionnaire of charities that support disabled children, interviews with academics and data from organisations such as the Local Government Association.
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