Disability Aids: Children
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will issue guidance clarifying the (a) roles and (b) responsibilities of (i) local services and (ii) the third sector in the provision of specialist equipment for disabled children.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
Integrated care boards (ICBs) in England are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population. NHS England Specialised Commissioning commissions complex disability equipment services, including communication aids, environmental controls, and prosthetics.
We expect ICBs to follow guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In 2022, the NICE published the guidance Disabled children and young people up to 25 with severe complex needs: integrated service delivery and organisation across health, social care and education, which is available at the following link:
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires that education, health, and social care services must work together to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). In May 2023, NHS England issued statutory guidance setting out the requirement for ICBs to have an Executive Lead for SEND, who will lead on supporting the Chief Executive and the board in ensuring the ICB performs its functions effectively, in the interests of children and young people with SEND.
Local authorities are responsible for providing social care services for disabled children, which can include specialist equipment. The guidance on supporting disabled children and their carers is available at the following link:
Further guidance on the roles and responsibilities of different organisations in meeting the needs of children with SEND can be found in the SEND Code of Practice, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
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