Have your say on our proposed changes to Barnet’s short breaks offer.
Overview
Short breaks are a range of play and leisure services for disabled children and young people, that allow parent carers to have a break from their caring responsibilities.
Barnet has one of the most generous short breaks offers in London. Families can choose between £1,200 per year to use flexibly with play and leisure activities or they can choose to have allocated hours and book spaces with one of our approved providers.
Despite increased costs of provision and ongoing financial pressures, the council is committed to maintainingContinue reading
Have your say on our proposed changes to Barnet’s short breaks offer.
Overview
Short breaks are a range of play and leisure services for disabled children and young people, that allow parent carers to have a break from their caring responsibilities.
Barnet has one of the most generous short breaks offers in London. Families can choose between £1,200 per year to use flexibly with play and leisure activities or they can choose to have allocated hours and book spaces with one of our approved providers.
Despite increased costs of provision and ongoing financial pressures, the council is committed to maintaining a core offer of support, whilst making the scheme more financially sustainable.
What we are proposing
To help us make the scheme more financially sustainable, we are proposing to change the way short breaks are paid for. Currently, families can choose whether to have their short breaks allocation via a pre-paid card or whether they wish to have hours arranged with one of our approved providers.
From 1 April 2025, we are proposing that all families will receive their short breaks allocation via pre-paid cards, with £1,200 per year available per year. Families will no longer have the option to receive allocated hours to use with a specific provider.
As the majority of families already choose pre-paid cards to maximise flexibility and choice, this change will impact a minority of short breaks users..
We would like to know your views on the proposal and what impact this change would have on families who use short breaks provisions.
Your views are important to us
If you are in receipt of short breaks in Barnet, we want to hear your views on our proposals.
We also want to hear about your experiences of using short breaks, what sort of play and leisure activities you use it for, and the difference is makes to your family. This feedback will help us shape services for the future.
We want to hear from families currently eligible for short breaks. To find out more please read our FAQs document.
How to have your say:
If you would like to request a paper questionnaire or another format, please:
If you would like someone to help you complete the questionnaire or need more information, please contact us using one of the above methods.
- Attend a consultation meeting or group discussion
As part of our consultation, we are arranging workshops for families that may be affected by the short breaks proposals.
These workshops will take place via Microsoft Teams at the below times and dates:
• Tuesday 24th September 2024 at 11 am – 12pm
• Thursday 26th September 2024 at 6pm – 7pm
If you'd like to attend one of these workshops, please email familyservicescommissioningteam@barnet.gov.uk with the date of the session you'd like to attend.
What happens after the consultation closes?
The council will use the consultation findings to inform our final decision. We will publish the results of the consultation, our decision and how we are acting on the results of the consultation on this web page in November 2024.
