Plans to scale back a “vital” scheme giving disabled children support to attend out-of-school clubs have been approved.

Medway Council’s cabinet has green lit proposals to change eligibility criteria for short breaks grants, in a move which will save the cash-strapped authority £200,000.

The scheme is intended to help children and young people with disabilities develop new relationships, skills, and confidence through activities such as playing sport, attending after-school clubs, or spending a few days away from home.

It also gives the child’s carers time away from their responsibilities to rest, undertake education, training, or regular leisure activities, spend quality time with other children in the family and complete essential household tasks.

But the increase of children eligible for the grants from 700 in 2016, when the scheme was introduced, to 1177 in October last year was deemed unsustainable.

Speaking at the cabinet meeting last Tuesday (October 29), Cllr Tracy Coombs (Lab), portfolio holder for education, said the change would allow the council to focus funding on those who needed it the most and other services were covering some of the aspects of the scheme.

She said: “The number of children with disabilities has risen significantly, this means many families are experiencing longer wait times to have the needs assessment and has significant cost implications for the council.

“A strategy has been developed which seeks to broaden our availability and uptake of inclusive, universal services by those who can access them.

“We also aim to make changes so places on targeted and specialist short breaks schemes are available to those who need them the most.

“Savings made from this will be reinvested to increase the provision we’re able to offer to help us meet the demand.”

She added the council would invest in analysing data to reduce duplication, more accurately meet need, and long-term, make the service run as efficiently as possible.

Cllr Coombs continued: “This strategy should lead to a more efficient service, better information for parents, more commissioned services and more equitable access to short breaks.”

The 2022/23 spend on short breaks grant was £625,000 - £134,000 above the allocated budget for the scheme, £491,000.

The cabinet approved plans to tighten up eligibility criteria, remove the lowest level of grants, reduce the amount families receive by £250, and ask families to reapply each year.

Cllr Louwella Prenter (Lab) supported the move, saying: “The short breaks are vital for the families that need them, this will help more children and those more in need to get the confidence of being independent.

“You can’t put a price on that really, that confidence of being independent, learning new skills and making friends.

“The strategy’s aim is not to make savings, but to make it a better whole service offering.”

Medway Council’s cabinet unanimously voted to approve the change at a meeting on October 29.