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CHILDREN’S MINISTER: £18 MILLION TO HELP KEEP CHILDREN ‘SAFE AT HOME’
20 February 2009Families across England will be given advice and access to vital safety equipment, such as safety gates and fireguards, to help protect their children from accidents at home Children’s Minister Delyth Morgan announced today. £18 million has been awarded to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to run ‘Safe at Home’, a National Home Safety Equipment Scheme, until March 2011. Safe At Home will be delivered through local schemes run by partners such as Sure Start Children’s Centres, local authorities and Primary Care Trusts. RoSPA-trained staff will make home visits to assess individual family needs, and will then tailor-make a package of equipment and practical home safety advice.
The Government set aside the money in response to the Staying Safe consultation, when parents said that they were unable to afford basic equipment to protect their children from household dangers. In total, 141 areas are eligible to benefit from the scheme, which will be targeted to help the most disadvantaged families living in areas with the highest accident rates. Delyth Morgan, speaking at the Ann Tayler Children’s Centre in Hackney, London, said:“We know that accidents in the home are the biggest cause of injury to children under five, and that over one million children of all ages visit hospital every year because of an accident at home. These statistics are worrying, which is why we are targeting £18m of support to the 141 areas where we can make the most difference.“Some accidents are difficult to prevent by home safety equipment such as scalds from hot beverages, so the national scheme will give parents practical advice about these types of accidents and what they can do to prevent them as well. I look forward to working closely with RoSPA as the scheme begins to make a real difference to families in need.”Errol Taylor, RoSPA deputy chief executive, said: "Clear links between deprivation and childhood accidents have been identified and that is why Safe at Home will help disadvantaged families access safety equipment which they may not always be able to afford. Such equipment, along with access to good information about home accidents and how to prevent them, has the very real potential to save children's lives and reduce the number and severity of injuries they suffer. "RoSPA is privileged to be administering a scheme which links directly to its mission, and is thrilled by the enthusiasm for the initiative already shown by children's workers up and down the country."In the Children’s Plan the Government pledged to spend £18m over the next three years to provide home safety equipment to parents who need the most help. With children from disadvantaged areas statistically far more likely to have an accident, the aim of Safe at Home is to help parents take the right steps and prevent the risk becoming a reality.There is evidence that providing free home safety equipment is an effective way of reducing accidents and it is hoped that this scheme will reduce the number of children being injured or even killed in preventable accidents in the home. As well as the distribution and loaning of equipment, RoSPA’s role will include a detailed education programme that will work with parents in areas with the highest accident rates to help limit the risk of unavoidable accidents in the home.
Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'
Local schemes will carry out ‘home checks’ to establish what safety equipment each family needs. It is anticipated that the average set of equipment provided to each family will include: • Safety gates
• Window locks
• Non-slip bath or shower mat
• Fire guard
• Locks for kitchen cupboard containing cleaning chemicals and medications
• Corner cushionsRoSPA will hold information workshops for local organisations such as Sure Start Centres, Primary Care Trusts, charities and other interested organisations interested in being a part of ‘Safe at Home’ in March 2009 and a further set of workshops in different areas of the country during April and May 2009. Further information available online: http://www.rospa.com/nhsesLocal areas which will benefit from the schemeThese are the areas with an accident rate for 0-5 year olds above the national average, based on hospital admissions. New and existing local home safety equipment schemes from these areas will be able to participate in the scheme if they met the criteria set out on RoSPA’s website: http://www.rospa.com/nhsesThese are the areas with an accident rate for 0-5 year olds above the national average.Allerdale CD
Ashfield CD
Aylesbury Vale CD
Barking and Dagenham LB
Bedford CD
Birmingham MCD
Blackburn with Darwen UA
Blackpool UA
Blyth Valley CD
Bolton MCD
Boston CD
Bournemouth UA
Bradford MCD
Bridgnorth CD
Brighton and Hove UA
Burnley CD
Calderdale MCD
Carlisle CD
Carrick CD
Chester-le-Street CD
Crewe and Nantwich CD
Derby UA
Doncaster MCD
Dover CD
Dudley MCD
Durham CD
Easington CD
East Dorset CD
Eden CD
Ellesmere Port and Neston CD
Enfield LB
Exeter CD
Fylde CD
Gateshead MCD
Gedling CD
Gosport CD
Gravesham CD
Great Yarmouth CD
Greenwich LB
Hackney LB
Halton UA
Haringey LB
Harlow CD
Hartlepool UA
Hastings CD
Havant CD
Hertsmere CD
Hinckley and Bosworth CD
Hyndburn CD
Isle of Wight UA
Islington LB
Kennet CD
Kerrier CD
Kings Lynn and West Norfolk CD
Kingston upon Hull, City of UA
Kirklees MCD
Knowsley MCD
Lancaster CD
Leeds MCD
Leicester UA
Lincoln CD
Liverpool MCD
Luton UA
Macclesfield CD
Malvern Hills CD
Manchester MCD
Mansfield CD
Merton LB
Middlesbrough UA
New Forest CD
Newcastle upon Tyne MCD
Newcastle-under-Lyme CD
Newham LB
North Devon CD
North East Derbyshire CD
North East Lincolnshire UA
North Shropshire CD
North Tyneside MCD
Northampton CD
Norwich CD
Nottingham UA
Nuneaton and Bedworth CD
Oldham MCD
Oxford CD
Pendle CD
Penwith CD
Plymouth UA
Portsmouth UA
Preston CD
Purbeck CD
Reading UA
Redcar and Cleveland UA
Redditch CD
Richmondshire CD
Rochdale MCD
Rossendale CD
Rother CD
Rotherham MCD
Rushmoor CD
Salford MCD
Salisbury CD
Sandwell MCD
Sedgefield CD
Sefton MCD
Shrewsbury and Atcham CD
Slough UA
South Bedfordshire CD
South Derbyshire CD
South Holland CD
South Ribble CD
South Shropshire CD
South Somerset CD
South Tyneside MCD
Southampton UA
Southend-on-Sea UA
Southwark LB
Spelthorne CD
St Edmundsbury CD
St Helens MCD
Stafford CD
Stockton-on-Tees UA
Stoke-on-Trent UA
Sunderland MCD
Sutton LB
Tameside MCD
Tewkesbury CD
Torbay UA
Tower Hamlets LB
Tynedale CD
Walsall MCD
Waltham Forest LB
Wansbeck CD
Warrington UA
Wear Valley CD
Weymouth and Portland CD
Wigan MCD
Wirral MCD
Wolverhampton MCD
Wycombe CD
Wyre CD
Wyre Forest CDContact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2009/0036
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