Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will implement the recommendations made in the Time to Move report published by Blind Children UK in February 2016 to improve the number of children with sight loss who receive rehabilitation training.

Jane Ellison

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to work with children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), and their parents, to develop a Local Offer of the services they have or expect to be available to children and young people with SEND, including those with visual impairment. As such, it is for local authorities, in consultation with children and young people with SEND and their families, to decide which services they offer in their area, which can include habilitation training.

At a national level, the Department for Education has funded a partnership of charities through the National Sensory Impairment Partnership to help local authorities to compare their services, learn from the best in the country and make sure that services for blind children and their families (as well as those with other sensory impairments) are effective and meet local needs.

In 2013/14 the Department of Health provided funding to Blind Children UK for their three year project training eight students for the Diploma in Habilitation Studies at the UCL Institute of Education. Officials have met with Blind Children UK recently as part of their engagement with key organisations which represent the interests of children and young people with complex needs.