Blackburn families seek to safeguard KIDS' short breaks through the courts
Council Forced To Maintain Funding For over 20 Families Until
Court Case Hearing
COUNCIL LEADERS in Blackburn are at the centre of a High Court legal challenge following their decision to cut short breaks funding for over 20 local disabled children.
The judicial review proceedings, which have been launched by two families on behalf of their children (Child A and Child B), seek to overturn Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council's decision to withdraw funding for the short breaks service it has been providing through national disabled children's charity KIDS.
The families, who were told late last year that the Council was no longer willing to support the service from April 2011, have instructed national law firm Irwin Mitchell to fight the case on their behalf as they believe the Council has acted unfairly and unlawfully.
The case will be heard on 31 May 2011 and in the meantime Irwin Mitchell has successfully secured a Court Order to ensure the care packages remain in place for all 21 families affected until a decision by the court is made.
Child A is a severely disabled 7 year old boy with a range of complex needs. He does not have the ability to talk and is unable to perform basic daily tasks such as dressing himself and eating. The care provided by KIDS includes two hours of short breaks on a Sunday during which time he takes part in community-based activities.
The other claimant, Child B, is a ten year old girl with dyspraxia which results in her suffering a number of physical injuries. Each week KIDS provides her with two short breaks including dance lessons and trips out to the cinema or bowling.
Commenting on the decision to launch judicial review proceedings and the importance of the care provided by KIDS, Child A's mother said: "I believe that action is needed in the present case in order to stop the proposed changes that would massively impact in an extremely negative way upon children with substantial needs.
"My son is a desperate situation in terms of the medical complexity in his conditions. To take away the service that he is presently in receipt of on Sunday would be totally catastrophic for him. It would break his entire routine and would also inhibit his excellent development to date."
Contact Details:
David Shirt
PR Manager
Irwin Mitchell
Tel: 0161 838 3094
Mob: 07720 509912
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