If society is willing to fund childcare for working parents - should parents of disabled children be equally entitled to this?

[MamaLlama123]

As a society we spend millions on funding childcare for working parents - policy is framed as this “free childcare for working parents”. One of the main arguments for access to this free childcare is because women shouldn’t have to give up careers/ pensions/ financial independence when they become mothers

However families of disabled/ send children often find that these hours are unusable in practice because settings can’t meet needs/ reduced timetables or simply will not offer places. Is seems unfair that mothers are expected to step down from work/ reduce hours/ absorb all caring responsibility. nurseries/ schools will often say that the requires requires a 1:1 to access the setting which no one seems prepared to fund

The parents with the highest caring responsibilities often greater financial pressure have least access to childcare and the workforce. Any if lack of childcare pushes these women/ families out of the workforce - then shouldn’t the benefits system compensate for this, for the earning and pension losses that result. An example of this that the money spent on 30hrs free childcare place to be directly given the the family

Or should these mothers/ families just accept that they should be at home? If a mother of a disabled does wish to maintain her career/ work - is this a legitimate goal that society should support or is that selfish because her child’s needs are greater.

I would be interested to hear thoughts as well as hear from families in a similar position

Yanbu at all and it's a shocking situation for parents of disabled kids. but it is not just mothers doing this. Maybe 99 percent mother's though.

Plenty of married couples arent entitled to universal credit housing benefit etc if one of them earns too much and too much isnt a really high salary, particularly if you arent renting. They then dont get all the associated free stuff either.

It might be fair that a sahp doesnt get these things if thier partner is earning as society has set the relief of poverty benefits at that level for a reason -

but its still a loss of salary in a society where many houses have two incomes and many families plan around having two incomes (so thier mortgage reflects that) and its still difficult to adjust too.

I didnt get any of those things despite having to more than halve my salary. I also wasnt eligible for carers as I still worked a small amount and was over the threshold.

Being able to access childcare would have been very helpful in keeping me earning more. Im not really on board with giving the 30 hours value to me instead '- but id really liked to have had something accessible.

Meeting needs involves meeting key needs.

Not everyone receives support for rent. Even when they do, very few people can get housing benefit and UC these days because, for most who rent and receive help with their rent, it is UC’s housing element that applies rather than housing benefit.

I work part-time TTO in a fairly flexible job now but for many years couldn’t work because of disabled DCs’ needs. I didn’t receive HB, UC or any of your ‘free things’.

Many carers aren’t eligible for free prescriptions.

Carers don’t routinely receive a clothing grant.

Carers don’t routinely receive free bus travel either. Some disabled people have a free essential companion on their disabled concessionary pass. However, not all disabled people are eligible for a pass, which is more likely in young children. Even when the cared for person is eligible for a pass, it and the associated free carer travel can only be used when the disabled person is travelling, not when the carer is travelling alone.

Yep.

Some people see the DLA rates and largely don't understand the costs of having a disabled child and that it is rare DLA covers even close to all of the additional costs.

My mum worked in respite care in the 80s. It was a council run home. Now I think it seems parents have to try and source the people themselves to provide care which seems impossible.
I do know someone who has money but can’t find someone to take their DD for a few hours so she can take her other DC out. I imagine it’s hard work for little pay.

I've never even heard of a clothing grant for disabled children.

I know of a few charities, e.g. Family Fund, who offer clothing grants for disabled DC, but the charities all have eligibility criteria and not all are eligible. When they are eligible, many use the grants for other things e.g. essential white goods.

Some councils have grants for school uniform, but they aren’t specific to disabled DC.

What on earth are you banging on about? What relevance is immigration?

The PP stated:
“We decided to have DCs, it’s a choice. That comes with the possibility of having DCs with disabilities”
I wanted to know how many of the children she chose to have are disabled to understand her experience of coping with disabled children. Her view on what it might be like is what is not relevant.

Universal credit claimants in Scotland receive a school clothing grant for all school aged children and free prescriptions etc.

if the OP was working then she would not get these things so this has to be taken into consideration if she wants compensated for not working.

i don’t use free childcare as I would part time so I can pick my kids up from school, should I also be compensated as I don’t take advantage of it?

Peoplr access different amounts of government services and you not compensated for those you don’t use. Should those without children get compensated for not using schools or free childcare?

I think you are confused. Everyone in Scotland receives free prescriptions, working or not, carer or not.

Many who are working receive a UC top up, so a school uniform grant for those on UC isn’t about whether someone is working or not and it isn’t about being a carer or not

People who actively choose not to avail themselves of something available to them shouldn’t be compensated, no.

I’m sure they just think it’s an extra injection of money that we keep for ourselves and spend on mobile phones and trips to Barbados. The occasional Ferrari.

That isn't a thing in England.

Choosing not to have children isn't the same as having a disabled child, neither is making the choice not to use childcare so not relevant comparisons really. Though as I said, I wouldn't do what OP suggested but would instead increase carers allowance.

I agree - you shouldn’t be compensated for something you don’t use because it is a choice. Therefore if you don’t use the childcare you shouldn’t get compensated regardless of ability.

Imagine the amount of people that suddenly wouldn’t be able to find a suitable provider if they started handing out cash to people for that reason.

Also, how much more does OP want? I just did a benefits checks (assumed married with one kid on DLA, husband making £2k month) total payment £3k. Then add husbands salary Thats literally more than most people make after tax. But still you want more, insane.

No wonder the govt is in such a mess if people want compensated for everything.

there is NO respite care for carers of disabled children where I live, and yes women are just expected to suck up the hit to career and earnings and so it all.

That's a whopping incorrect assumption.

If a parent of a typical child decides not to use their funded hours, then i agree they should not be compensated for that

but what about families whose child can’t realistically access the childcare?

It’s like a wheelchair user without a ramp trying to access a bus. if the government spends thousands providing a service but the wheelchair user can’t access it, is it fair to say “well the service exists so you get nothing?”

It's not a choice if no where will take your child.

The short answer to your question is no.

Disabled children and parents should be offered more support.

It isn't a choice for parents of disabled children who want to access childcare but can't. That's the difference.

Our LA has a specific funding pot for this reason.

Nurseries, on receiving an application from a child with SEND, can take the child to a panel and receive advice, commissioned sessions to upskill their staff, rigorous training, bought-in OT/PT/EP, and failing all that, a 1-1 - for exactly the amount of hours they receive in funding.

Our LA does this to try to ensure that disabled children can experience early learning and to ensure that carers dont experience burnout, and that schools aren't overwhelmed in Reception by children who aren't school ready.

It is not a perfect system but it is working for the children it works for.

If someone can’t use the free hours because of their DC’s disability, that isn’t a choice.

I just did a benefits checks (assumed married with one kid on DLA, husband making £2k month) total payment £3k. Then add husbands salary

What rate DLA are you using? And what rate of housing element?

Because a manual calculation of an example of a couple over 25 with a preschool age child on MRC DLA and renting with a LHA rate of £800pm doesn’t show that figure:
Standard allowance. £666.97
Child element (for a young child) £303.94
Disabled child element (for a child on MRC since most disabled DC do not receive HRC) £164.79
Carer element £209.34
Housing element £800 (random amount, not the lowest LHA for 2 bed rate and not the highest)
Total =£2,145.04

Earnings £3k
Carer’s allowance £374.60

Work allowance £427

Earnings minus work allowance
£3000 - £427 = £2,573

Earnings deduction
Earnings x 0.55 =
£2,573 x 0.55 =£1,415.15

Total allowed - earnings deductions - carer’s allowance = total UC for month
£2145.05 - £1,415.15 - £374.60 = £355.30

Added to this amount is MRC DLA which is £306.80 per 4 weeks and the £374.60 CA per month (although that is t paid monthly but I have given the monthly amount because that is how it is deducted from UC). Certainly nowhere near £3k per month.

The local authority should legally have to ensure childcare for disabled children (including school holiday care) is actually available.
If your child is at a special school, there is very little provision available in the school holidays. Even kids in mainstream with additional support (like my DC) will probably not cope in normal holiday childcare with large ratios.
Giving money to individuals is not the answer when there is nothing suitable to spend it on.

@tourdefrance The local authority should legally have to ensure childcare for disabled children (including school holiday care) is actually available.
But that’s not the case for parents of non disabled children, many parents can’t avail of the 30 hours because nurseries around them have a finite number of funded spaces because it’s not economically viable for them.
Plenty of parents also can’t avail of their schools after/ before school club because they don’t have the capacity.

I don’t think someone’s child not being able to access a full provision is the same as there not being one that meets a child’s needs.

One of them is a case of getting in earlier, and the other is a lack of suitable provision.