Petition updateEvery Child & young person with complex needs and their Families/Carers needs support

update

J HUnited Kingdom, United Kingdom

Mar 29, 2026

Funding & Lindsay House (South Eastern Trust)

The Official Position on Lindsay House

Lindsay House has remained unavailable for overnight respite for a prolonged period.

FOI Response: Where is the funding going

The Health Minister announced £13.1m to improve services. However, the South Eastern HSC Trust’s share for 2024/25 highlights a disconnect between in-year funding and service delivery:

• Total Spent: £282k from the in-year investment was spent on “Family Support”

• Breakdown: £105k of this allocation was spent on “Day Short Breaks”

The Position: Despite this in-year funding, there has been no confirmed reopening of overnight respite at Lindsay House, and families report a reduction in day-time support.

(Note: This £282k forms part of the 2024/25 in-year allocation and is separate from the £2.4m annual recurrent funding confirmed in the Assembly.)

The Reality Gap: Day Short Breaks & Staffing

While the Trust’s FOI response records £105,000 spent on “Day Short Breaks,” there are ongoing questions about how this funding is translating into direct, staff-led support.

Emergency Funding: Assembly Concern

During NI Assembly discussions on funding for children’s services, concerns were raised about how earlier funding had been used:

“Money allocated in the previous financial year for children's services did go unspent... what was spent was invested in increasing therapeutic services and early intervention rather than addressing the current and acute needs. Parental classes are no use to a family on the edge of care who needs a night of sleep.”

— NI Assembly Official Report (Hansard), 8 April 2025

Documented Funding Allocation (South Eastern Trust)

On 8 April 2025, during an Adjournment Debate on “Respite Provision: South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust,” the Health Minister confirmed funding allocated to the Trust:

• £2.4 million in annual recurrent funding

• Allocated to support and expand respite services for children with disabilities

• Intended to support the re-mobilisation of services, including Lindsay House

Current Position:

As of 2026, Lindsay House remains closed to overnight respite, and there is still no confirmed timeline for its return.

Timeline of a System Under Pressure

• Overnight short breaks at Lindsay House were suspended

• October 2024: Multi-million-pound regional funding announced. The Minister stated that demand “outstrips supply” and children are on the “edge of care”

• April 2025: NI Assembly warned of a potential “summer without support” due to the continued closure of Lindsay House and delays in alternative provision

• December 2025: Redwood House registered, but restricted to one child, three nights per week due to staffing capacity

• February 2026: It was confirmed there is still no projected timeframe for the return of respite services at Lindsay House

Official Statements: The Proof of Systemic Failure

These statements are taken directly from NI Assembly records and Committee evidence:

The “Edge of Care” Admission

“The lack of short breaks and respite is pushing families to a point of exhaustion and despair. We are seeing a growing number of children with disabilities being pushed onto the ‘edge of care’—not because they aren’t loved, but because the system that is supposed to support them has collapsed.”

— Committee for Health, NI Assembly (Minutes of Evidence, March 2025)

🔗 https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/officialreport/minutesofevidencereport.aspx

The “Fragility” Warning

“The system is so fragile that, if one new child presents [with complex needs], the plans need to be redrawn... for some time, demand has outstripped supply with a substantial number of families on waiting lists and a growing number of children on the edge of care.”

— Health Minister Mike Nesbitt (NI Assembly Official Report (Hansard), 8 April 2025)

🔗 https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/officialreport/report.aspx?&eveDate=2025-04-08

The “Broken Promise” Confirmation

“My party colleagues and I have repeatedly been told that short breaks from Lindsay House would be facilitated once the residential facility in Redwood was opened... we are now receiving confirmation that, despite Redwood opening, there is no likelihood of Lindsay House reopening anytime soon and no projected time frame for that going forward.”

— Nuala McAllister MLA (NI Assembly Official Report (Hansard), 3 February 2026)

🔗 https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/officialreport/report.aspx?&eveDate=2026-02-03

The Position as It Stands (South Eastern Trust)

• Lindsay House: Unavailable for overnight respite for a prolonged period.

• Greenhill: Currently operating at reduced capacity (documented as one bed)

• Redwood: Restricted to one child, three nights per week

Supporting Evidence & Source Links

• High Court Judgement – KIN12392

(See Paragraph 5 regarding the suspension of overnight short breaks at Lindsay House)

• NI Assembly Official Report (Hansard) – 8 April 2025

🔗 https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/officialreport/report.aspx?&eveDate=2025-04-08

• NI Assembly Official Report (Hansard) – 3 February 2026