Calls for supported housing for disabled children

Parents and their disabled children lobbied the council

Concerns about disabled children who will need somewhere to live after their parents and carers die have led to calls for homes to be built in Newport.

Parents and young people were told solutions "will take time" at a recent meeting at Telford & Wrekin Council.

One of the parents, Liz Bickford-Smith, asked what plans the council had to develop supported living for adults with learning disabilities and difficulties.

Councillor Kelly Middleton, cabinet member for public health & healthier communities, said the authority had a commitment to securing such accommodation in its local plan.

She said demand for such housing in Telford had risen by 20%, higher than the national average.

The council saw the development of 53 individual housing units for 53 individuals on seven sites across the borough in 2023-24, she added.

She said the council realised the importance of continuing with the effort, but added "it will take time".

Parents in 70s

Parents who attended last Thursday's meeting of the full council said it was a vital issue but they "haven't got anywhere" with their calls for help.

"It needs something now," said one. "We have people who are in their 70s and their children will need somewhere to live when their parents die."

Another said: "We have been campaigning with MPs and councillors to get something done."

Supported housing or living is a term that applies to a wide range of housing-based solutions, the council's website states.

It said people in supported housing had diverse and sometimes complex needs, requiring different levels of support in various types of accommodation.

The purpose is to enable people to live as independently as possible within their community, with a focus on inclusion.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.