A ‘devastating’ decision to slash a disabled woman’s care package has been reversed by Stockport council following a legal challenge by her family. The 36-year-old has Turner Syndrome - a rare genetic disorder - and is also autistic with severe learning difficulties.
She lived with her parents up until she was 20, but this became difficult for them to manage and an initial emergency placement became long-term in 2005. By 2013, her care package included five days of support in her own home, plus ‘direct payments’ which enabled her to return to the family home, with support, at the weekend.
Being close to her family - including her brother, Grandma and godparents - she ‘loved’ to spend the weekend with them and enjoyed long hikes and other activities, which had become a ‘major part’ of her routine. But last year the council decided to axe direct payments, on the grounds they amounted to double-funding, rather than the level of support necessary to meet her care needs.
