Bristol City Council Questions Disabled Children Support
Consultation asks about service changes but gives no details
Support for Bristol’s Disabled children moving into adulthood has been identified for savings by Bristol City Council but does not specify exactly what will happen.
The council is currently consulting on 77 ways to ‘reduce costs and increase income’ for 2026-2027.
It’s doing so through a budget consultation, though says changes to the support for Disabled children moving into adulthood may require ‘further consultation’.
Leader of Bristol City Council, Councillor Tony Dyer says: “The financial outlook remains extremely challenging with pressures we face from rising demand, inflation, and constrained funding.
“We are at a point in the financial year when we begin laying out plans for next year’s budget and revising our forecasts of what we believe our finances will look like over the next five years.”
He is asking Bristol residents to complete the survey so they can hear from “as many people and audiences as possible”.
The consultation says: ‘We propose to improve the support for Disabled children as they move into adulthood. We would review the support across the Children and Families, Adult Social Care and Educational council services. Updating our policies and procedures would make the move into adult services smoother for young people and their families.’
The consultation further says that the council has not identified and equality impacts from service delivery ‘at this stage’.
It continues: ‘Making the move from childhood to adulthood better for Disabled people is likely to have a positive impact on equality. We will continue to review how the workforce will be affected.’
In a document accompanying the consultation explores the 77 budget savings proposals in further detail, it covers similar ground.
No information is given about exactly what proposals to ‘improve the support means’.
And despite any consultation requiring an Equality Impact Assessment due to Disability being a protected characteristic, the council doubles down on a lack of doing one despite asking members of the public if they ‘agree or disagree with proposal: Improve support for Disabled children moving into adulthood?’
The full text says:
‘Improve support for Disabled children moving into adulthood:
We propose to improve the support for Disabled children as they move into adulthood. We would review the support offered across the Children and Families, Adult Social Care and Education council services. Updating our policies and procedures would make the move into adult services smoother for young people and their families.’
‘We haven’t identified any equality impacts from service delivery at this stage. Making the move from childhood to adulthood better for Disabled people is likely to have a positive impact on equality. We will continue to review how the workforce will be affected.’
Bristol City Council’s Young Adult Transitions Service is for young people who have been getting care and support from our children’s social care services, they may be eligible for support from adult social care.
A young person, who asked not to be identified, told us about their experience with the service.
They said: “It was inconsistent and unreliable. Some of the people weren’t helpful and were really quite irritating. I didn’t gain anything from it. It’s just not very good.”
The Budget 2026 to 2027 consultation runs for six weeks, closing at midnight on Wednesday 26 November 2025.
To take part: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/Budget-2026-27
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