£30 million for short breaks to benefit families in England

2 mins read

Tuesday 1 February 2022

Tags: short breaks, campaigns

The government has today announced £30 million for short breaks for families with disabled children in England. This follows a long-running campaign by the Disabled Children’s Partnership, of which Contact is a lead partner.

Alongside the £30million for short breaks the government has also announced £18 million more for supported internships.

Our campaign has been heard

Amanda Batten, Chair of DCP and Chief Executive of Contact, said: “This announcement finally shows that the government has acknowledged that the system of support for families with disabled children is not good enough. We are glad that our campaign has been heard, which is down to the 1,000s of families emailing their MPs, signing petitions and filling out surveys as well as parents and young people speaking to ministers and policy makers at events. We are also extremely thankful to the Sun for their help leading the #GiveItBack campaign.

“Of course, this additional funding will not solve all the problems that families face, after many years of cuts to services. But it is an important step, and we hope to build on this to make the case for more dedicated funding for disabled children and their families.”

Short breaks are vitally important to families

Lots of research shows the fundamental importance of short breaks to the wellbeing of families with disabled children. They enable parents to have a break from caring and spend time with siblings. And they allow disabled children to do fun activities with their peers. This is more important than ever as families report being exhausted and more isolated than ever following lockdowns, school closures and a reduction in services due to the pandemic.

Watch this video of Amanda Batten responding to the news.

The Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) is a wide network of big and small organisations, thousands of parents, young people, parliamentarians, newspapers and more.

Advice and information on getting a short break

Take a look at our information on short breaks – a way of getting a break from your caring responsibilities.