Special Educational Needs: Respite Care

(asked on 23rd June 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to make Breaktime Plus more accessible to people; and if she will publish guidance on the running of Breaktime Plus.


Answered by
Georgia Gould Portrait
Georgia Gould
Minister of State (Education)
This question was answered on 1st July 2026

Breaktime Plus is a short breaks programme run by Lancashire County Council. Local authorities have a duty to publish their own short breaks offer, and the government has supported them in this by publishing the lessons learned from the Short Breaks Innovation Programme in February 2026. This report includes a range of approaches to improving the effectiveness, accessibility and efficiency of short breaks provision.

The government is also carefully considering the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its September 2025 report on disabled children's social care. The Commission highlighted the importance of short breaks as a key form of support for disabled children and their families. Ministers are considering the Commission's findings and recommendations and intend to publish the government's response in the autumn.

Reticulating Splines