Local offer

[appropriatelyemployed]

What do you use the local offer for? There seems to be very little available in this area.

ha! was going to ask the same as zzzzz

where can it be found?

The Local Offer is for families who have a child, or children aged 0-17, with severe or profound classifications in their Joint Agency Record; or where the child receives Disability Living Allowance at the middle rate for care or higher rate for mobility, and does not receive any other short breaks funding through Fair Access to Short Breaks (FASB) or Direct Payments.

thanks, AE

I never get to know anything about disability services - dd1 is not under any paed/salt/ot, not on the disability register (I get asked occasionally if she is, but when I try to find out what it is, everyone clams up ), and we don't claim DLA.

I don't even know how to go about finding out about any of this stuff

I only know cos someone told me - search for local offer and your county in google and see what it comes back with.

comes back with nothing in Gloucestershire unless I'm being dense...

it came back with LA housing options for my county

a nice page of survey results about what residents want (like repairs handld more efficiently), but nothing on how that would be achieved!

You can try googling under "every disabled child matters" and local offer or short breaks. I would contact your LA to ask about it if nothing comes up.

Hollow bitter laughter.

It can be that your child is entiitled to attend a general mainstream playscheme, after school activities etc. Doesn't mean that in reality your child CAN actually cope in these environments or that the staff have any training whatsoever on inclusion.

e.g Until they were privatised my borough's adventure playgrounds were off limits to parents, which meant my son was unable to use their facilities unless I paid a registered childminder (of which there are none locally with ASD trainining btw) to take him. The practical result of this "local offer" was that it was useless for disabled kids. On the other hand the borough runs several swimming programmes. It may take you 1.5 hours to get there, but the 45 mins allocated as a lesson counts as "respite" under the "local offer".

It's one of those areas that is a REAL post code lottery as some councils run fantastic special needs playschemes and take inclusion in after school activities etc very seriously, others are worse than hopeless. If your child can join in with lesiure activities allocated as suitable by the council, then that's respite under the "local offer".

More and more boroughs are closing day care centres and centralised playschemes in favour of direct payments. My area is a pathfinder, so the promise of "glory" means that the "local offer" stuff is being sidelined as a low priority. Those who don't manage to leap through the hoops to qualify for direct payments often have to make do with "local offer".

I found something for south Gloucestershire - any good?

Nope - South Glos is a different administrative area...

Boc - you can get the money to spend on services yourself under the local offer you don't have to use what the LA offers.

I didn't have any problem getting a payment under the local offer - finding what to spend it on when there are no services is more difficult.

I would contact them and ask them about accessing their local offer or short breaks statement.

DS doesn't meet the (unpublished) criteria (quell suprise)

Pissed off tbh as my adult sibling is in need crisis & the neighbouring authority who are also turning out to be patronising chocolate teapots. It's a REAL joy attending SS and hospital meetings with a lively, bored 8 year old with an obsession for lightswitches in tow, yet I have no choice due to no flipping childcare availability.

We've had to cancel our summer trip due to my sister, my elderly mother is worrying her blood pressure to silly levels. My cycicism dial is turned up to max at present, as I'm sick to the back teeth of hearing how wonderful my authority is when on the ground, I'm sinking.

What I find really interesting is that middle rate care or high rate mobility is considered to be a qualifying criteria according to your quote AE. Yet I have been told for years that ds (HRC and HRM) and dd (HRC and LRM) aren't considered disabled enough for any services. That was until after ds went to SS and suddenly he is entitled.

in our area you can access a short break personal budget. Ds2 was awarded a budget last year but because the agencies (two care companies) that the LA use to provide support (which you ahve to organise yourself & pay for out of the budget) could not provide anyone as we live in a rural location... err surely they knew that when they won the contract for rural Suffolk. So we gave the budget back & had no respite.

As far as i can work out the additional short break funding allocated to local authorities ahs been spent on a new dept within the council & a new "activities unlimited" website but no extra supported schemes for children.

I'm hoping that the neighbouring PCT will get SO sick of my lad disrupting their meetings (pointless meetings that never achieve anything - does it never end ffs?) that they will FORCE my authority to pull it's finger out.

The quote I posted about the local offer did not come from my county. My LA actually grants short break funding if you have a child with a statement of 25 hours or more. Probably why they fight so hard to keep you below 25 hours!

I think a clearly worded letter to the Director of Children's services in your LA asking for details of the criteria for short breaks funding and what services are on offer should do the trick. Or ask your local councillor to find this out. LAs hate elected members getting involved.

Have you tried your councillor Boc?

this might help

See also this

I couldn't find anything for my local area, though I found this for a neighbouring authority www.stockton.gov.uk/resources/socialcare/localofferservicesfordisabledchildren/localofferguide.pdf

I suspect that the equivalent for our authority is the Durham Children's Network activities, though they seem to be "short breaks" which aren't short breaks because the kids need an accompanying adult. An activity suitable for DS1 is not at all suitable for DS2, so I've never been able to access any of it with them any more than I could take them to local play mainstream schemes.

that would be mainstream play schemes. I'm off to look for chocolate.

I think that is a problem - you get a payment, what can you spend it on as if services do exist they are being slashed?

exactly appropriatelyemployed... DS2 was awarded a £500. budget, all we wanted was for someone to support him in attending some sort of activity outside the home.
There are only ms activities locally during normal term time, so we tried to employ someone from the care agency to accompany him.
None of their employees was willing to travel to us.
When i explained my problem to the LA dept responsible, she said "i've heard scouts are very good, would he cope if you just drop him off"
So its back to dh or I taking him swimming once a week, so he still has no time away from us & us him.
All i want is for him to experience an activity indepentant of us.
Tis PANTS, the LA have additional funding from central government but dont fund additional groups or anything that gives a family real respite.