Council proposals to cut respite services put on hold following threat of legal action
The parents of a disabled child have successfully halted Derbyshire County Council’s proposals to cut respite services in the local area, after threatening to launch legal action.
Having already consulted on the issue, the council was set to make a final decision on 11 April. However, the parents argued that the consultation was “flawed”.
Acting on behalf of the parents, law firm Rook Irwin Sweeney issued a Notice of Intention to send Pre-Action Protocol Correspondence, to stop any decisions being made at the council meeting on 11 April.
The letter described the consultation, which lasted 13 days, as “plainly lacking in detail”. It said: “The consultation was obviously unlawful, […] and any decision that is made in reliance of that unlawful consultation will also be unlawful.”
It continued: “Instead, we invite DCC to not make a decision on 11 April. Should DCC wish to further explore this matter, we invite DCC to only do so after a lawful 12-week consultation, taking into account the flaws set out below with regards to the current consultation.”
The council’s proposal was to “repurpose services” for children with a disability at ‘The Getaway’ and ‘The Outback’.
The Getaway is described by the council as providing “residential short breaks or shared care to disabled children and young people aged from 7 to 17-years-old.”
One proposal was to use The Getaway as a residential home for full time care for 3 children aged between 7-17 years.
However, only one bed would continue to be available for short breaks for children at high risk of full time admission, which would mean reducing the short breaks service at the Gateway by 75%, from 4 beds down to 1.
Following the legal letter, the council has withdrawn the proposal and said it will consult again.
Alex Rook from Rook Irwin Sweeney, who acted under the firm’s 'Social Justice Fund', said: “Public bodies have a duty to consult fairly, including making sure that families fully understand the implications of any proposal, and giving them sufficient time for them to respond.
“This consultation was very clearly flawed – the actual proposed cuts, and the consequences of them, were very vague and two weeks does not give enough time for families to properly respond. The consultation was therefore unlawful, and any decision made in reliance upon would also be unlawful. We welcome the decision to withdraw the decision from the Cabinet meeting.”
A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We received correspondence concerning the recent consultation on two of our short break centres.
“Following consideration, we withdrew a Cabinet paper on the outcomes of the consultation and will shortly restart a consultation for a period of ten weeks.
“We welcome all feedback and want to ensure we give opportunities for all expressed views to be included and represented before any final decisions are taken.”
Lottie Winson
