Your questions answered
Choose a topic…
Is my child eligible?
-
To be eligible, the child must be:
Between the ages 5-17 years old*
Living permanently in Hackney
Receiving middle or high rate of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)** for the help with the personal care component.
*If your child is aged between 3-4 and meets the other eligibility requirements, you can apply for a one off payment of £200. When you make the application, you will need to select the Under 5 option. You will only be eligible to receive this once per child.
** If your child is receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) then we require them to be receiving the enhanced rate for the daily living component.
-
If you have…
Individual Budget (IB) card - up to *£880 a year is available on a prepaid card to spend on social/leisure activities for your child and/or to pay for a carer.
Allocated hours at one of our commissioned providers - up to *110 hours to be used with the selected provider.
*If your child is in receipt of a care package that includes social activities (from the Disabled Children's Service) then the allocation that you receive from Short Breaks will be halved.
-
Yes.
You can request to change from your child’s current provision (provider to Individual Budget card, or Individual Budget card to provider) once in the financial year.
To ask for a change in your child’s provision, please email us at short.breaks@hackney.gov.uk.
Note that it will take four weeks for this change to take effect.
Also note that the amount of funding/hours your child is allocated after the change will depend on how much has already been used up and what’s remaining for the year.
-
Yes. We do not have a cap on the number of children you can apply for – as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.
When will the money arrive?
-
The payments are added to your Individual Budget account twice a year.
The first payment is added between April and May. The second payment is added between October and November.
-
The hours reset at the beginning of the new financial year (1st April).
-
On 31st March (which is the end of the financial year) any unused funding or allocated hours are clawed back into the system.
So if you haven’t used it, you will lose it.
Funds or allocated hours cannot be rolled over and do not accumulate.
What can I use the money for?
-
Short Breaks funding can be used to pay for leisure activities and/or to pay a carer.
Some examples of activities are:
Cinema
Bowling
Theme parks
Amusement parks
Swimming
Funfairs
Trampolining
Zoos
Aquariums
Theatre.
This list is not exhaustive. If you’re not sure, please email us and we will confirm.
-
Short Breaks funding can not be used to purchase equipment or goods of any kind. This includes, but isn’t limited to: toys, books and food.
The funding also can not be used outside of the UK or for any travel costs.
-
Yes, you can use the funding to pay for a carer.
You will need to find the carer yourself and decide how much you pay them hourly.
They do not need to be registered as a carer for you to use them, though they must be over 18 and can not be a parent of the child or someone that lives in the same address as the child.
To pay them, you will need to log in to the online account account and make a bank transfer directly to them.
You will then need to fill out a timesheet (ask Short Breaks for this) and email or post it to us.
-
Yes! Check out the Things to do section, where you can search for things to do by your child’s interests, their age, the area you live in and many other things.
The HIT Squad also makes regular recommendations for seasonal activities – see What’s on? for the latest info.
Card problems – what can I do?
-
There are a few reasons why cards don’t work. Please check the following:
Have you activated the card?
The card will not work until it is activated. Every new card that you receive will need to be activated and the PIN number retrieved.You can do this by calling the automated number 0203 327 1991.
Do you still have funds available?
Check your balance by logging on to your prepaid card – there’s a link at the bottom of this website.Is the payment blocked?
Some types of payments will be automatically blocked to prevent the funding being misused in places or on things that are not allowed.For example, meals out and cinema snacks are not coverd.
Is there an issue with the shop or service?
Unfortunately, some companies or providers automatically block a payment, even though the service they provide should be eligible for Short Breaks funding.This means the card may not work even though the activity you are trying to do falls within the guidelines of what/where the funding can be used.
This is usually because of the way th ecompany has registered themselves.
For example, a bowling alley that also serves food may have registered itself as a restaurant. The card will not work here as you are not allowed to use Short Breaks funding for food and drink.
To avoid this happening, we encourage you to pre-book your activities before you go.
-
Let us know at short.breaks@hackney.gov.uk.
IN the email, please include your child’s name, date of birth and your address. We will block the old card and order you a replacement.
If the address you provide is different from the one we have on file, you will be asked to send a proof of address before we issue a replacement card.
-
Check the footer of this website – we’ve included a link to help you on your way.