Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria local authorities are expected to apply when assessing eligibility for overnight respite care for disabled children, and whether her Department holds data on regional variation in approval rates.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing the needs of disabled children in their area and deciding what services should be provided to meet those needs. There is no nationally prescribed set of eligibility criteria for overnight respite care. Decisions are made by local authorities based on an assessment of the individual child and family's needs and their statutory duties under the Children Act 1989.

The department’s guidance 'Short breaks for carers of disabled children' makes clear that local authorities should provide a range of short break services to meet local needs and publish information about the services available. Decisions about access to specific services, including overnight respite care, are for local authorities to make based on individual assessments. The department does not hold data on access to overnight respite care for disabled children and does not collect information on regional variation in access to such care.