Issue details

Proposed Decision:

The Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services is asked to:

Approve the provision of grants to external providers to deliver Short Breaks for Disabled Children and Young People Service by commencing an Open Grants Process, and delegate authority to award grants to the Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education or other Officers as required by the Corporate Director, in consultation with the Cabinet Member.

Reason for the Decision

A competitive open grant process for Short Breaks Day Activities is proposed, offering two-year grants from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2028, with an option to extend for a further 12 months from 1 April 2028 to 31 March 2029, to help Kent County Council fulfil its statutory duty for Short Breaks Day Activities. The proposed decision falls within the Key Decision criteria of affecting two or more electoral divisions and expenditure over £1m for the lifetime of the project.

Background:

Short Breaks Day Activities are preventative family support services aimed at families with a disabled child to allow them to have a break from caring. They also provide disabled children the opportunity to have fun and learn while doing activities in a new environment outside of the home. They provide a chance to spend quality time within their community with other children and young people who may have similar life experiences, helping to build friendships and connections beyond the family. For parents and carers, Short Breaks Day Activities provide regularly planned breaks from their caring responsibilities, allowing time to pursue other activities, education, chores and spend time with other members of the family.

Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Children Act 1989^[1] and subsequently the Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011^[2] to ensure a sufficiency of Short Break Services for parents/carers of disabled children. The regulations include the specification of “services available to assist carers in the evenings, at weekends and during the school holidays”.

Current Short Breaks Day Activities were commissioned under competitive grant arrangements for a two-year period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2026, with the intention to better understand demand, reach, performance and outcomes.

Using Grants to commission these services includes an open and competitive bidding process with a rigorous evaluation, moderation and compliance to safeguarding, health and safety and financial viability of providers. This route is recommended as the market for these services tend to be grass roots or voluntary sector organisations that require flexibility to deliver to changing needs. The existing arrangement introduced improved ways of recording performance and attendance, allowing a detailed analysis on effectiveness of the service. The review after the first year of this improved arrangement identified positive outcomes for children and their families as well as better reach of service and value for money.

What is being proposed?

Shortly, KCC will be undertaking a Public Consultation on the Short Breaks Strategy, this includes the Short Breaks Day Activity programme, overnight Short Breaks, Care and Support in the Home and Direct Payments.

The Kent Short Breaks Strategy 2026–2031 sets out the county’s approach to providing inclusive, short break services for eligible disabled children and young people. It aims to support their development and independence while offering families meaningful respite from caregiving. The strategy outlines seven key objectives focused on improving access, equity, and quality of services, and is shaped by extensive consultation with families and service providers. Public Consultation is in the planning phase and the Strategy is intended to be presented at CYPE Cabinet Committee for Key Decision on 20 January 2026.

The previous direction of travel for these services was to move to a contracted model, as opposed to a grant process and in light of the forthcoming public consultation and the development of the Kent Short Breaks Strategy 2026–2031, it is recommended that the progression of the longer-term Short Breaks Day Activities Model be paused. This will ensure that any future proposals are aligned with the final Strategy and informed by the consultation feedback. Additionally, the anticipated Local Government Reorganisation introduces uncertainty regarding the future operating landscape, further supporting the need to defer development until greater clarity is available. In addition, the optional 12-month extension from 1 April 2028 to 1 March 2029, if required, will provide service continuity during which time localised plans in line with the new established local authorities can be considered.

This approach will continue to support Kent Voluntary Community Social Enterprise organisations in Kent, and help build capacity, enabling creativity and flexibility to service delivery. Providers are of strategic importance to KCC in achieving its Sufficiency Duty in relation to Short Breaks Day Activities. This approach supports the Civil Society Strategy, to build on the partnership working we have seen over the last year between public sectors and the social sector partners.

The proposed decision supports Framing Kent’s Future Priority 4 New Models of Care and Support by enabling cost-effective, community-based services that promote early intervention and family resilience.

It also supports the opportunity area of ‘service transformation opportunities’ within Securing Kent’s Future Objective 2 which states “KCC exists to provide services that meet the needs of Kent residents whilst meeting our Best Value duty. Consequently, the council can only deliver budget sustainability through a significant focus on the services it provides and transforming them accordingly to continue to meet needs whilst bringing the budget back into sustainability”. Through the current grants we have transformed the way data is collected to be able to ensure that the service is reaching the right young people in the right areas of the county and allows the identification of any gaps in delivery to be able to target these accordingly.

Options:

Option 1: Do nothing and allow the current grants to end in March 2026

Option 2: Recommission Short Breaks Day Activities through contracts

Option 3: Recommission Short Breaks Day Activities through grants