Explanatory note

These Regulations are the first regulations to be made under paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989, which imposes a duty on local authorities, as part of the range of services they provide for families, to provide breaks from caring to assist parents and others who provide care for disabled children. Paragraph 6(1)(c) and (2) of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989 were inserted by the Children and Young Persons Act 2008.

The Regulations, which come into force on 1st April 2011, prescribe the manner in which local authorities must make provision for short breaks for carers of disabled children in their area. Local authorities must have regard to (a) the needs of those carers who would be able to provide care more effectively if they had breaks from caring, and (b) the needs of those carers who would be unable to continue to provide care unless a break were offered to them (regulation 3).

They require that local authorities provide a range of short breaks services (regulation 4), and that local authorities, in consultation with carers in their area, prepare, publish, and keep under review, a “short breaks services statement” setting out what services are available, the categories of carer who may be eligible to gain access to them, and how they are designed to meet the needs of carers in the area (regulation 5).

An impact assessment of the effect that these Regulations will have on the costs of business and the voluntary and public sectors is available at www.education.gov.uk and is available alongside the Regulations on the OPSI website.