Parents 'blamed' for Oxfordshire SEND service cuts

The service supports autistic young people aged eight to 21 and their families

Parents who were blamed for cuts to a "lifeline" autism service said it had left them angry.

Families of autistic children spoke out about their concerns at an Oxfordshire County Council meeting on Tuesday.

The authority came under scrutiny in March after Autism Family Support Oxfordshire (AFSO) revealed it would be pulling its family support service.

At the time, the council said it was due to parents' feedback and not as a result of spending cuts.

But Conservative county councillor Ian Corkin said families had never been given the choice and "should never have been put in the frame".

In March, a letter AFSO sent to parents and carers read that the council would stop funding youth groups and family support work from 1 April.

The authority previously told the BBC it was because "parents did not feel [these services were] as important as direct care".

Mr Corkin, the representative for Ploughley, said: "The charity itself is blamed and, shamefully, the parents."

AFSO were informed of, and understood, the decision to allocate funds elsewhere prior to the tendering process, according to the council.

Addressing the chamber, Clare, the parent of an autistic child, said the response had made her angry.

'Huge blow'

"The council blamed parents, blamed AFSO, denied knowledge of responsibility... [it] continues to let generations of neurodiverse children down."

Another parent, Claire, said without the service she would have no-one to turn to and urged the council to find a long-term solution.

"The loss of this service is a huge blow to parents who are desperate for help," she said.

"Please don't take this away."

Mr Corkin asked Kate Gregory, Liberal Democrat councillor and cabinet member for SEND improvement, whether she would apologise for "victim blaming".

This was in response to the county council releasing a statement that said parents and carers "wanted the new [charity re-tendering] offer to provide care for children rather than parenting support".

It has since given a one-off grant and offered professional advice to the charity following discussions, as an intermediate step towards "giving time" to allow AFSO to find "alternative long term funding".

Ms Gregory said: "I'm not sure why that quote was used again today - it's obviously very distressing for those families impacted and we do need to get an updated statement out."

In a new statement, a council spokesman said: "Additional funding to AFSO has previously been provided on a one-off basis to enable the charity to provide parenting support to families when the charity's previous funding streams with the NHS ended.

"As all contracts relating to short breaks for direct provision to children and young people with SEND were due to end on 31 March, a re-commissioning process for short break support commenced last year. 

"This did not include parenting support, as this is not categorised as a short break.

"The recommissioning process included a consultation with parents and carers.

"This consultation did not include parenting support, as parenting support was not included in the new contracts.

"The Oxfordshire Parent Carer Forum was involved with promoting the consultation and gathering feedback from parents. They did not comment on proposals as an organisation.

"AFSO were successful in their bids for short breaks for children who are autistic.

"However as parenting support was not part of the tender for short break services, there was no opportunity to bid to continue the parenting support service through the short breaks tender.

"AFSO were informed of this decision in April and June 2023 and then formally informed prior to the tendering process starting. They understood this."

The authority has previously been criticised over its care for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

In 2023, Ofsted inspectors discovered Oxfordshire County Council found some vulnerable young people were being made to wait years for help .

The authority has since published an action plan in a bid to improve its services.

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