I advocate for a young lady, Jen, who is 17. Jen has cerebral palsy and needs the use of a hoist and suitable showering facilities.

Jen's problem is this:
Jen has refused the local social service respite facility and instead opted to receive a Direct Payment for a personal assistant to support her on short breaks. She wants to get out of the family home, but is very limited in her options because of needing the specialist equipment. Places with hoists tend to be expensive.

Social Services/Direct Payments will only pay for the cost of the personal assistant accompanying Jen. Jen must pay the cost of the accommodation for her and her carer from her own money. This is usually prohibitive and Jen has few opportunities to get away.

I was wondering whether other people had experiences of ways round this.

Do some councils cover the cost of the accommodation as well as the personal assistant? If so, where?

many thanks,

Rich