Latest news with #ChildrenAct1989
Daily Mirror
26-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
DWP PIP bonus could offer up to £36,000 to redo your home
Councils will generally only approve 'essential work' Personal Independence Payments (PIP) serve as a gateway benefit, making claimants eligible for more than just the monthly DWP income. One such benefit is the Disabled Facilities Grants. These grants are provided by local authorities and can offer up to £36,000 in some areas to make homes more accessible for disabled residents. As Lottie explains, it's hoped that these grants and accommodations will enable people to remain in their own homes instead of moving into care facilities. Your local council will assess your eligibility for the grant and determine the exact amount you receive. In England, grants are capped at £30,000; in Wales you can receive up to £36,000, while in Northern Ireland the limit is £25,000. The grant can be paid in instalments as the work progresses or reimbursed in full once the work is complete. Councils are also directed to approve only work deemed essential for enabling the disabled person to lead an independent and fulfilling life. This assistance is means-tested, so applicants will need to undergo a financial assessment to check their income and savings, which will dictate how much they can receive. If the grant is being applied for on behalf of a disabled child, the parents' income may not need to be considered. If you commence work on your property before receiving a response to your grant application, it's likely that you won't be approved. You'll also need to apply separately for any necessary planning permissions or building regulations approval. The grant is most commonly utilised for houses, but it can also be applied to houseboats, caravans or other permanent residences. Lottie highlighted that the grant is available to individuals who are: Physically disabled Hearing, seeing or speaking impaired to the extent that it affects their daily life Mentally ill Registered as disabled under Section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948 and aged over 18 Registered as a disabled child under the Children Act 1989 If you're a tenant, you'll also require your landlord's permission. They have the right to refuse your application, but they must provide a valid reason or they may be in violation of Disability Discrimination Laws. In some instances, disabled individuals may only require minor modifications to their living spaces. For these situations, smaller home adaptation grants are available from local authorities. These are typically categorised as alterations costing around £1,000 or less, such as installing grab rails, motion sensor lights or creating dropped curbs. The council will usually conduct a home assessment. This may recommend different equipment or changes than you had initially considered, in order to make the home safer for its disabled occupant. Home assessments are free and can be booked via the website.
The Guardian
09-04-2025
- The Guardian
Decision to grant abusive partner access to daughter ‘alarming', UK court hears
A decision to allow a father contact with his daughter despite him having sexually abused, domestically abused and coercively controlled the mother is 'alarming', a court has heard. The allegations against the father, who is a member of the armed services, were found to have been proven on the balance of probabilities (the civil standard of proof) in a 2021 fact-finding judgment by the family court. But Charlotte Proudman, representing the mother, said in written submissions that the findings of fact 'have been put to one side and the focus has been on a 'pro-contact approach''. None of the parties in the case can be named. The mother is appealing a decision by the recorder Christopher Sharp KC in March in which he said the status quo with respect to the daughter's contact with her father should remain, despite a recommendation by the daughter's court-appointed guardian to reduce contact by ceasing overnight stays. The mother initially sought an order for a stay on contact or supervised contact with the father but then accepted the guardian's recommendations. She said in submissions: 'Despite such serious findings, contact was ordered to commence between [the daughter] and F [father] without a full risk assessment … The approach in this case has been nothing short of alarming. 'A [sexual abuse] victim ordered to promote contact with her [abuser]. At no stage has there been any consideration, nor any regard given to the impact of the profound sexual violence and abuse that I have suffered. Nor has there been any assessment as to whether F even accepts the findings, which is required.' She said that the father manipulates her daughter to be mean about her and 'exert control over me and cause me distress', adding that a cross-allegation of 'hostility' against her was victim-blaming 'for struggling to promote my [sexual abuser]'. Sharp also presided over the 2021 fact-finding judgment, but Proudman told Wednesday's hearing there had been a 'lack of engagement with any of the findings in 2021, which were of course very serious'. She said the father's behaviour was criminal, 'reprehensible and horrific' and added: 'The approach in this case has been nothing short of alarming.' The court heard that the mother had, at a hearing before a district judge in September last year, agreed to her eight-year-old daughter staying overnight with the father. She said she was 'coerced' into that contact agreement but Carl Geary, for the father, told the family division of the high court in London it was 'freely agreed' by the mother who then made an application to vary it and made fresh allegations against his client. He told the court the father accepted the 2021 findings but said in written submissions: 'F's position is that the decision was consistent with [the daughter's] welfare being the paramount consideration under section one of the Children Act 1989. 'M [mother] now seeks to depart from a position she previously agreed to, without identifying any material change in circumstances or new evidence of risk as between the time of her agreement and the imposition of the varied contact arrangements. It is F's case that the court made a careful, case-specific assessment of harm and benefit.' Mr Justice Peel said he expects to give judgment in the next few days.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Number on formal protection plans for child sexual abuse at 30-year record low'
The number of children on formal protection plans in England because of sexual abuse has fallen to its lowest level on record, according to analysis which has prompted a charity to warn thousands of child victims could be going undetected and unsupported. The centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) said there had been 'political rhetoric and media furore' earlier this year on the issue of such abuse, but urged 'concerted and determined cross-government activity' to tackle it. The Government has pledged to set out a clear timetable by Easter for implementing all the recommendations in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The long wait for the 20 recommendations to be implemented hit the headlines in January after billionaire X owner Elon Musk made comments online focused on child grooming. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accused him and others of 'spreading lies and misinformation', but within weeks the Home Office had announced an audit looking into the scale and nature of 'gang-based exploitation' across the country as well as local reviews into grooming in some areas. But the CSA Centre – which is mainly funded by the Home Office and hosted by Barnardo's – said despite the 'significant debate about how children are protected', child sex abuse is 'less likely to be identified and named as a concern in child protection plans than ever before'. The centre's analysis found that local authority children's services in England placed 2,160 children on child protection plans (CPPs) for sexual abuse in 2023/24. It said this was the lowest number in the 30 years that this data has been collected. A child becomes the subject of a CPP if they are assessed as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. They will first have been assessed, having been referred to children's social care services and inquiries can be made under section 47 of the Children Act 1989. CPPs are put in place by local authorities to support families and keep children safe and can be initiated for various reasons including neglect, physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Centre director Ian Dean said concerns about child sexual abuse accounted for around a quarter of a social worker's child protection caseload three decades ago, but 'is now recorded in barely 4% of child protection plans'. He described this as 'deeply troubling', with the centre estimating around 500,000 children are sexually abused in England each year. The CSA Centre said surveys show 'sexual abuse is just as common as other forms of childhood abuse and harm, yet issues such as neglect and emotional abuse remain much more likely to be identified in children's services data'. The report said: 'The number of children being identified by police and local authorities is only the tip of the iceberg, and the gap is getting wider.' Mr Dean said while not all children who are sexually abused or at risk of being sexually abused need to be on a CPP, 'child in need and child protection measures are often the only way to track and ensure that action is taken to protect and support them'. He said: 'Beyond the political rhetoric and media furore, these longstanding issues require concerted and determined cross-government activity, with sustained commitment over the coming years.' Lynn Perry, Barnardo's chief executive, said: 'This report by the CSA Centre makes it clear that thousands of children experiencing sexual abuse are going undetected and unsupported.' The charity repeated a call to the Government to guarantee specialist therapeutic support for child victims of sexual abuse, which was one of the IICSA recommendations. It said: 'There is a unique opportunity here to improve how professionals who are responsible for keeping children safe work better together, and provide the right level of funding, so that police officers, social workers, teachers and others have the resources they need to identify children at risk of abuse, put the right support in place, and give them back their future.' Annie Hudson, chairwoman of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, said the CSA Centre report 'highlights some very concerning trends' and described it as 'worrying that the number of children on a child protection plan for sexual abuse is now at the lowest level since the data started being recorded 30 years ago'. She added: 'It is vital that we recognise the challenges children face in verbally reporting sexual abuse, and that practitioners have the knowledge, skills and confidence to identify and respond to concerns. 'It is critical, therefore, that Government provides strong leadership and delivers a robust strategy to address its stark reality of child sexual abuse in all its forms.' The Local Government Association said it is 'vital that all professionals working with children, including in children's social care, the police, health and the voluntary and community sector, have high-quality training to enable them to identify and respond to potential signs of abuse rather than relying on verbal disclosures'. A Government spokesperson said: 'The findings in this report are deeply concerning. Child sexual abuse is an abhorrent crime that no child should ever have to face, and we know that it can have lifelong negative repercussions for victims and survivors. 'As a child-centred Government, we are working at pace to address the recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, including introducing the duty for professionals to report child sexual abuse through the Crime and Policing Bill. 'Through our landmark Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we're driving better child protection and improving information sharing between teachers, social workers and other professionals to prevent children falling through the cracks.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Council apologises to mother over respite care
A council has apologised to a mother after it took too long to offer suitable respite care. The mother, known only as Miss X, complained to Shropshire Council in January 2024 about its failure to arrange suitable respite for her child, who is disabled, with complex learning difficulties. This included overnight care when Miss X was admitted to hospital for a planned operation later that year. The authority considered the complaint and apologised for the delay in arranging respite and said it was still searching for suitable provision. In the following months, it held "child in need" meetings to try and resolve the situation. In June 2024, the mother complained to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGO). On 17 December, the LGO said the mother had identified suitable provision for her child during her operation, and the council agreed to fund 24 nights of respite care throughout the year. However, at the time, Miss X said the council had still not resolved the issues and was concerned that she would be in the same situation in the future. The LGO found that there had been a problem with the council's complaints procedures. "Councils should use the children's statutory complaints procedure for complaints about actions they take to meet their duties under Part 3 of the Children Act 1989," said the LGO. "The council's failure to respond to Miss X's complaint using the children's statutory complaints procedure was fault." It added that this meant the mother had to go through the "wrong complaints procedure and complain to the Ombudsman unnecessarily". The LGO told Shropshire Council to begin an investigation into the complaint and needed to provide evidence of its compliance. A council spokesperson said: "We acknowledge and understand the concerns made by the individual and have apologised for any distress this has caused. "We welcome the findings from the Ombudsman; solutions are being sought, and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure our children's statutory complaints processes are applied appropriately in future." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Woman's job success after disability internship Mum's pain over autistic son 40 miles from home Local Democracy Reporting Service
BBC News
06-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Shropshire Council apologises to mother over respite care
A council has apologised to a mother after it took too long to offer suitable respite mother, known only as Miss X, complained to Shropshire Council in January 2024 about its failure to arrange suitable respite for her child, who is disabled, with complex learning included overnight care when Miss X was admitted to hospital for a planned operation later that authority considered the complaint and apologised for the delay in arranging respite and said it was still searching for suitable provision. In the following months, it held "child in need" meetings to try and resolve the June 2024, the mother complained to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGO).On 17 December, the LGO said the mother had identified suitable provision for her child during her operation, and the council agreed to fund 24 nights of respite care throughout the at the time, Miss X said the council had still not resolved the issues and was concerned that she would be in the same situation in the LGO found that there had been a problem with the council's complaints procedures."Councils should use the children's statutory complaints procedure for complaints about actions they take to meet their duties under Part 3 of the Children Act 1989," said the LGO."The council's failure to respond to Miss X's complaint using the children's statutory complaints procedure was fault."It added that this meant the mother had to go through the "wrong complaints procedure and complain to the Ombudsman unnecessarily".The LGO told Shropshire Council to begin an investigation into the complaint and needed to provide evidence of its compliance.A council spokesperson said: "We acknowledge and understand the concerns made by the individual and have apologised for any distress this has caused."We welcome the findings from the Ombudsman; solutions are being sought, and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure our children's statutory complaints processes are applied appropriately in future." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
