Assessing the social care needs of disabled children with autism

Independent Investigation - Gwynedd Council.

It is the week before Christmas and Cyngor Gwynedd customer care(!) send me an email in connection with the Independent report which they have had in their possession for over 7 weeks now.

They tell me the report has - finally - been sent back to the Investigator for questions to be asked and seeking the clarity they said was to be sought weeks ago -

"....I will arrange a meeting the first week in January for the Senior Managers to discuss the report.  

This is the situation as it currently stands, if something does change I will let you know."

We have repeatedly asked for a copy of the report, who the adjudicating officer is in this matter and whether or not the Independent Investigator has upheld our 6 points of complaint.

The council have refused to answer us and when asked who we may contact in order to discuss our concerns in the interest of fairness and transparency, we received the following -

"If you wish to discuss your concerns regarding the Stage 2 investigation, you are welcome to contact the Ombudsman at any point."

 We obviously wanted to discuss our concerns with council officers actually dealing with our complaint and not the Ombudsman - that may come later.

But as the council are aware it was the Ombudsman who first 'suggested' to me to raise the complaint way back in May.

The Ombudsman wrote -

" I have also informed the Council of your intention to submit a complaint and that I expect it to provide you with a full response to your concerns."
 
That was 7 MONTHS ago....

More here -  https://gwyneddsfailingcouncil.blogspot.co.uk/

Council accused of failing children with autism #Sheffield #Autism

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Image copyright BBC/sparkle sheffield

Image caption Sparkle Sheffield's campaign includes a video called Stop the Abuse

A council accused of failing disabled children in order to save money has admitted it has made mistakes. 

Campaigners said children with autism and other special educational needs (SEN) are suffering from a lack of support in the classroom. 

Children's charity Sparkle said Sheffield City Council is obstructing parents' efforts to find suitable schools for their children. 

The council said it "truly regrets" its mistakes.

SEN reforms in 2014 saw the introduction of education, health and care (EHC) plans which are legally-binding agreements local authorities must abide by, but which cost them money.

Sparkle, which supports children with autism and their families, said by delaying EHC plans, children are are not being allocated schools in time or are sent to educational settings which do not meet their needs.

The group, which has been running a campaign called "Stop The Abuse", said this causes stress and anxiety, sometimes leads to self-harm and is in effect "abuse". 

Liesje Dusauzay from Sparkle said: "Our children are being left to suffer extreme distress in unsuitable environments without the support they desperately need. 

"This is destroying children's lives and their families lives." 

Sheffield City Council said in a statement: "We are continuing to work hard to bring about improvements in assessing, supporting and implementing the right provision for children. 

"We recognise we have not got this right in the past, and despite improvements we still do not always get it right currently. We truly regret this." 

But solicitor Hayley Mason, who advises parents taking legal action against local authorities, claimed councils around the country are withholding information from parents in order to save money.

She added: "They can save their sorries for themselves quite frankly, because it does parents no good." 

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-south-yorkshire-41098051