Care unit planned to save city £290k

A NEW unit providing full-time and respite care for children with physical and learning disabilities is set to be established in the Capital in a move which city chiefs say could save them £290,000 per year.

Bosses within the children and families department want to create a five-bed unit for children aged between five and 17 with high-support needs.

It is anticipated that three of these beds will be taken up by full-time residents, with the other two being used to offer respite care.

At the moment the city does not have any facilities that can offer this type of care, with children often being placed in residential schools elsewhere in the country.

Although the unit would cost the council 850,000 per year to run, bosses say they would make 290,000 of savings by keeping the children in the care of their own authority.

However, the new facility is unlikely to be able to cope with all the demand.

Gillian Tee, director of the education, children and families department, said: "It is clear that we do not meet the needs of a very significant proportion of children with disabilities who require full-time or respite care."

Ms Tee is asking councillors to give the go-ahead for plans to turn the Edinburgh Family Support Centre on Howden Hall Road - which currently provides accommodation for children aged between five and 12 - into the new unit.

Children currently living there will be placed in foster care.

Education bosses say that the new unit would enable children to remain in close contact with their families in Edinburgh and allow them to continue with their normal interests.

Each bed in the unit would cost 170,000 per year, the equivalent of 466 per child per day. Council bosses say this compares with annual costs of between 175,000 and 240,000 which they have to pay for residential accommodation in other local authorities.

Ms Tee added: "The UN convention on the rights of the child sets out the right of a child to family life.

"Our aim is to ensure that accommodation is provided in a family or family-like setting.

"For most children, this is delivered separately from their school education and, as far as possible, we would wish to extend similar provision to children with a disability.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Labour's education spokesman, welcomed the move.

He said: "There is a great demand in Edinburgh and the capacity has always been small and we have relied on people outwith the city. I'm glad that we are seeking to address this."

If approved, the new unit could be up and running by autumn next year.

City children and families leader Councillor Marilyne MacLaren said: "This new centre will keep more local children in Edinburgh, close to their families where they should be."