A family has won the right to have holidays for their two autistic sons funded through a direct payment.
Suffolk County Council had funded holidays for the men, known as BG and KG, from 2014. However, that stopped in 2020.
The council stopped the funding after deciding it would no longer include travel and accommodation costs in personal budgets.
But the mother of BG, 37, and KG, 38, challenged the council’s decision in the Court of Appeal.
And the court ruled in the family’s favour. The court suggested that the council’s decision to cut funding for the holidays was based on a “restrictive and wrong” interpretation of the Care Act 2014.
Supported holidays in Florida
The council had provided £3,000 each to BG and KG for supported holidays and the family visited Florida (pictured) in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
Mark Neary, 63, from Cowley in London, is a campaigner with learning disability human rights group Rightful Lives.
Neary, whose 32-year old son Steven has autism, said the decision was a “good judgement”.
He believes it sends a “strong message” to commissioners that they “can’t erase a person’s eligible needs from a care plan without good reason”.
In a statement, Suffolk County Council said it accepted the judgement, but was “disappointed”.
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Published: 21 August 2022
