Eyesight: Testing
Health
Written answers and statements, 6 June 2007
John Baron (Shadow Minister, Health; Billericay, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether children in full-time education being educated at home have the same rights to (a) free NHS sight tests and (b) vouchers to cover other costs of ophthalmology as children in full-time education being educated in institutions; what guidance she has issued to (i) opticians and (ii) local authorities to reflect these entitlements; and what evidence must be accepted as proof of a child being in full-time education at home.
Rosie Winterton (Minister of State (Health Services), Department of Health; Doncaster Central, Labour)
holding answer
All children under the age of 16 are entitled to national health service sight tests and vouchers for optical appliances, as are children aged 16, 17 and 18 who are being educated full-time in a recognised educational establishment. The Department has not previously issued specific guidance on this subject. Where children aged 16 to 18 are being educated at home, the local primary care trust would need to seek advice from the local education authority to assess whether these arrangements are comparable to full-time education in such an establishment.
Annotations
Shena Deuchars
Posted on 8 Jun 2007 3:43 pm (Report this annotation)
According to s7 of the Education Act, parents have a duty to educate their children. They may discharge this duty by sending their children to school or otherwise. If the Education Act does not stipulate that education must take place in a school, how can the Health Act 2006 make that more stringent requirement?
When Rosie Winterton says "the local primary care trust would need to seek advice from the local education authority to assess whether these arrangements are comparable to fulltime education in such an establishment", she demonstrates her ignorance of education law. Education authorities have no jurisdiction over education for over-16s.
The Child Benefit Agency accepts continuing home education over 16 as conferring entitlement to Child Benefit. Surely the same test should be applied by the Department of Health?
Barbara Stark
Posted on 9 Jun 2007 1:36 pm (Report this annotation)
Because of the NHS Act 2006 it is a fact that home-educated children in full time further education have had their health benefits withdrawn this year by the acts of the party currently in power. It appears from this answer that these rights will continue to be withheld subject to a home education approval system for which there is no mechanism currently in place.
AHEd members, who have contacted their local authority about this, report that the LAs have never heard of this new duty proposed by Rosie Winterton. One member was told that home educated children will not receive these health benefits because no number is issued to cover home education as it has been for educational establishments. Only in the last day, another home educator has reported that her son was advised by PPA that he cannot qualify on the basis of being a child in full time further education based at home because *the place you are studying must be registered with the Department for Education and Skills.* Obviously homes are not registered with the department and should not have this requirement placed upon them. Neither should children be denied health benefits because of this. You can read the exact wording here: http://www.ppa.nhs.uk/ppa/age.htm,
Home based education is an important human right, equal in English law to institutionalised education, but the extra demands of new policy are disadvantaging and unfairly discriminating against electively home-educated children. Either the department has forgotten about our children completely and is now trying to cover the mistake by inventing new and inappropriate procedures, or they are trying to eradicate freedom in education and conscience in this country by using health to forcibly induct every child into their one right way of education.
The situation is very worrying and thoroughly unacceptable.
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