State Help For DisAbled Children A Disgrace
This is a guest post by Rumbold, who is a regular contributor to Pickled Politics, where this was originally posted today. Thanks to Rumbold.
Given that there are around 770,000 disabled children in Britain, you would think that we would have a competent system for dealing with them. Yet an article on the weekend highlighted not only the massive amounts of bureaucracy involved, but also the inadequate care which many disabled children and their parents receive:
“To apply for appropriate benefits, you have to fill out 10 different forms containing 1,194 questions, spread out over 319 pages. Many families rely on these benefits, as regular employment when you have a disabled child is made practically impossible by the multiplicity of appointments. It’s also extremely difficult to find childcare. I couldn’t use a childminder for my daughter, as she needed a fully accessible home.”
Now, I don’t think that this problem emerged under this particular government. Previous Conservative and Labour governments have not shown themselves to be any more competent in establishing a system that meets the needs of most children. Nor is there a perfect way of doing things, as you do need safeguards to ensure that only those entitled to the help should get it. But this level of bureaucracy is unacceptable, especially as it does nothing to help the child. What we need are more carers for younger disabled children, more money for parents who work as carers, and more assisted living places for older children (16+). That would at least be a start.
Same Difference 