The Director of Children’s Services provided an update on progress on the Wirral Local Area Implementation programme for Aiming High for Disabled Children in relation to Short Breaks provision. The approach sought to transform services across sectors to provide support to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people with disabilities and enable children and their families to live ordinary lives.

The Government required the Council and Primary Care Trust to provide for a stepped change to short breaks services and to deliver on what was termed the Full Service Offer, designed to meet the needs of all groups of disabled children. He reported upon action taken in meeting the reporting and performance requirements set out by Together for Disabled Children, who were administering the programme on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) prior to April 2009 and the further steps required over the next two years to March 2011. The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Lifelong Learning welcomed the detailed analysis and expressed the wish that the short breaks programme could continue beyond 2010/11.

Resolved –

(1)  That the report be noted and a further report with clear recommendations from the residential service review be presented to a future meeting.

(2)  That the Consultation Strategy for Parent Carers be noted.

(3)  That the Commissioning Brief be noted and a further report be presented to a future meeting upon the outcome of the tender exercise.