Children's special needs not 'recognised' in housing policy

THE PARENTS of children with special needs are lodging an increasing number of complaints about the provision of suitable local authority housing, a report by Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan states.

The report found that a number of the difficulties stem from the absence of any positive obligation on administrative authorities to consider the child’s best interest.

A total of 140 complaints were received by Ms Logan’s office between January 2005 and August 2009 in relation to housing, of which almost half concerned special needs children.

“In particular, the review of complaints has highlighted that children’s voices and needs are often silent and not adequately recognised in housing policy and practice,” the report states.

Ms Logan said, in some cases, local authorities offer housing which is not appropriate for the child in question, leaving parents concerned that a refusal to accept the offer could result in them being penalised on the local authority housing list.

She also expressed concern about the length of time it could take for suitable accommodation to be found for a child with special needs.

One case study in the report states that the family of a child with severe special needs was granted priority on the housing list in 2003, and that a house was identified in June 2004. However, it was 2008 before adaptation works to make the house suitable for the child to move in were completed.

“Waiting for years for a suitable house, and living for a large proportion of your childhood in sub-standard accommodation, should not be the experience for any child with special needs.”

The report recommends that local authorities improve engagement with families of and children with special needs.

A spokesman for the department said a “housing strategy for people with a disability” should be developed by the end of this year, and this would include “the appropriate range of housing and related support services to people with a disability”.

“The issues raised by the Ombudsman for Children can be considered in the context of completing the draft strategy,” he said.