Two respite centres that have been described as a matter of survival for families with severely disabled children will remain open for three years while Essex County Council implements a three-year strategy.

Families with children with severe special needs had previously said their lives would be wrecked if it was not for two vital respite centres in Harlow and Colchester.

Their comments came after concerns that respite being offered by Essex County Council at two specialist homes, Lavender House in Colchester and Maples in Harlow, could be permanently reduced.

But cabinet member for children, Cllr Louise McKinlay, has met with families and made assurances to parents that Maples and Lavender will not close during the three-year strategy.

Nonetheless, the council in the process of making a decision to reduce the number of staff at both Maples and Lavender to meet the demand of children placed at these sites.

Use of both homes has changed – the number of children accessing Maples over the past four years has fallen by more than 37 per cent, from 64 in April 2015 to 40 in January 2019.

The number of children using Lavender over the same period has reduced by 62 per cent, from 86 to 32.

Cllr McKinlay said: “We are currently developing a three-year strategy to ensure our respite service for children and young people and their families is flexible and reflects the needs of different families.

“The strategy seeks to widen options for respite in developing fostering caring opportunities, review direct payments and look at the role of short breaks.

“I have met with families and have made assurances to parents that Maples and Lavender will not close during the three-year strategy.

“We are however in the process of making a decision to reduce the number of staff at both Maples and Lavender to meet the demand of children placed at these sites. This is not a cut, it’s about having the right level of staffing to meet the number of children in the flats on each of the sites.

“Developing the future strategy is a top priority for me and I am committed to working with parents who use overnight respite care plus other parents who use other forms of respite on offer such as fostering to produce our future plans.

“I am delighted that they have agreed to join a workshop in the new year, where we can benefit from their experiences.”

Cllr John Baker, vice chairman of the people and families policy and scrutiny committee, said: “For some families respite is – and I wont say life or death but – I will say survival or not survival. I am thinking of those children with the most severe complex needs.”