SEN Direct Payments

[appropriatelyemployed]

OK - I have a pathfinder Council refusing to accept applications for SEN direct payment and failing to provide advice/information about the scheme on the issue of statements.

I have a letter from Sarah Teather who says Council's are obliged to do this.

Council are still dallying and pretending it is about 'interpretation'.

How can we raise/publicise this?

Opposition?

Do they care though?

Can those of us funding private provision and foregoing statement provision either deliberately or not challenge under JR with requests for costs.

I'm not suggesting all go on a sudden spending spree but there are many doing this anyway. Particularly ABAers or those that have lost tribunals for independent placements that are stumping up fees etc.

It's something our Local Paper would grab the chance of a story on. Is that an option for you?

Our local paper is a rabid Tory rag!

Getting back in touch with the opposition is an idea. I have the contact details from the sessions they ran. Will send across Teather's letter.

Surprised IPSEA and the like not more active on this really.

do you think these SQW people who are assessing the outcomes of Pathfinders would be interested?

As you know we were refused DP for SALT - even though we effectively have DP for education already as DS ABA invoices are paid direct to us and we pay / choose the provider. So it was not much of a stretch to have given us DP for SALT

I have the letter I can scan and email to you.
Perhaps if others on here have similar experiences we could send all our requests and response to you and then you could submit a collection? Would be more likely to attract attention than an individual approach?

As we are getting our ABA funded this is not a battle we felt we could be bothered to have with our LA as we don't want to give them an excuse to re-open our statement - but the other side of AR in the Autumn we may feel differently!

But woukdn't a rabid Tory rag want to flag up incompetent LAs and their political will to deny parents choice and keep money to fund themselves!?

It is a rabid Tory council who are very cosy with the rabid Tory rag!

Agnes - interesting you should mention the organisation you have. Early on, I got in touch about the pathfinders issue and the Direct Payment Order and they were very cagey. Quickly asked to speak on the phone rather than email. Quizzed me about how I knew so much - I suspected they thought I was a journalist and then were very apologist for LAs, saying government hadn't given proper guidance yet and it would all be alright once guidance was issued.

IPSEA were doing something and I got an email asking for feedback but when I explained what was going on, they emailed back and said 'sorry we can't advise, go and speak to your MP'. I pointed out I wasn't asking for advice but trying to flag up an issue but they never got back to me.

There are too many people/organisations with their own agendas with this.

I think pooling resources is a very good idea.

I have emailed the opposition.

You find an Opposition Councillor who's dying to embarras the controlling Party. Perhpas one who sits on the Education Committee.

The audit commission?

Will email you some ideas

Auditors are CRAP. Punted it off to the DoE and said 'we're waiting for an answer too'!!

Thanks Agnes. I've replied.

Wet - that is a good idea. Trouble is we have Tory Council with Lib Dem opposition and a Lib Dem is heading this!! Will see what I can do.

There was that Guardian journo who was writing on this - John Harris??

Jeeeeeez, you couldn't make it up.......

So, can you send a letter to one dept, who will no doubt pass it onto another.

Include in a letter to the other, the response from the first, and keep going until you have a long list of correspondence going higher and higher then publish it!?

I have response from Teather herself now!! Can't get much higher.

Just need to expose these sham pilots for what they are..... too many vested interests out there though and that includes 'children's groups'.

But they aren't even waiting for the undefined outcomes before they push through their policies, so there never was any need to think them through properly or assign any accountability. They were just an attempt to demonstrate a level of consultation, but with minimum planning or definition, but lots of media reporting!

In short, no-one cares what LAs do in the pathfinders.

Opposition got back to me and asked for a copy of the letter and they are going to think of how to pursue this. Parliament is in recess in two weeks though so it would probably be in the autumn.

Raising with mumsnet is a good idea.