Allegations of fabricated or induced illness (FII) against parents are on the increase from councils trying to avoid paying for special needs services.
That’s the claim from the Facebook support group Fiightback. Concerned parents set the group up at the end of last year.
Education lawyer Nathan Davies: he says allegations of fabricated illness have been rising
Leigh Jackman is one of the founder members. She says pressure on councils since the introduction of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) is one of the main factors driving the allegations.
Budget cuts for doctors and schools are also fuelling the increase, Jackman said.
‘Masterclasses’ in FII
She accused councils of running “masterclasses” on FII for staff.
She said these classes highlight a range of conditions as a sign that parents are fabricating child’s difficulties. The conditions include autism, gastrointestinal problems, allergies and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, which affect the joints.
One mother, whom we cannot name for legal reasons, said her local authority attempted to have her two daughters, aged 12 and five, taken into care.
The mother says her elder daughter has been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and social communication disorder.
But the mother says the child’s school claimed she had fabricated the conditions.
She says the local authority took a case against her, claiming she invented the conditions to gain state benefits.
‘So much stress’ for daughters
However, the local authority lost the case. For the mother, winning the case was a bitter victory because it caused “so much stress” for her daughters.
Education law solicitor Nathan Davies said some councils use social services departments to “discredit” parents.
Davies said authorities accuse parents of failing to impose “appropriate boundaries”.
Cardiff-based Davies, of HCB Widdows Mason, said cases of FII have “certainly gone up in the last two years”.
A Local Government Association spokesman said the introduction of EHCPs was “significantly underfunded”. The Government must “urgently provide additional funding”, he said.
The Department for Education says it gave councils £223m extra to help introduce EHCPs.
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Published: 12 March 2018
