Many of the recommendations of last year's cross-party review intoservice and funding requirements for disabled children (Children Now,1-7 November) have been picked up in Aiming High for Disabled Children:Better Support for Families. These include a focus on the transition toadulthood, funding for short breaks for disabled children and thedevelopment of public service agreement targets for services, holdinglocal authorities to account.
This victory shows what can be achieved when representatives of asometimes disparate sector work together. The Every Disabled ChildMatters campaign in particular has worked to ensure the whole disabledchildren's sector was consulted on the proposals. It also shows howcrucial it is for the children's sector to learn to speak the languageof the money men.
Showing the Treasury that investing hundreds in respite care and shortbreaks to give families a break would save the thousands needed to takethem into care when families break down under the pressure was obviouslya strategy that worked.
As both Jo Williams, chief executive of Mencap, and England's children'scommissioner Al Aynsley-Green have said, the new money should be seen asa "downpayment" on long-term change. The funding works out at 500for every disabled child in the UK over the three years, or 3,500for every severely disabled child. Clearly it must be targeted to makeas much difference as possible, with as much money as possible goingdirectly to children and their families. The sector must keep a watchfuleye on how the money is spent and must also be ready to prove the moneyand policy changes have made a difference, in order to argue forincreased funding beyond the Comprehensive Spending Review period.
There is still much to lobby for, as Children Now and Every DisabledChild Matters made clear last week with our inclusion charter (ChildrenNow, 16-22 May). But the announcements this week are a very welcomestart.
