Steve Broach, manager of the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign, described the decision as a historic moment.
Explaining its change of heart, the government said it felt families and disabled children placed great importance on short break services. Ministers have put forward an amendment to the Children and Young Persons Bill that will put a specific requirement on local authorities to provide short breaks.
Currently local authorities have the option of providing short breaks under the Children Act 1989.
As part of its Aiming High for Disabled Children strategy, the government has already announced it will spend £359m on short breaks during the next three years. It has also introduced a disabled children's performance indicator for local authorities.
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