Newport council’s decision to leave a special needs service for children (SenCom) led to a legal challenge on behalf of Brogan Battersby, and an eventual U-turn. The battle to save the service has been led by his grandmother Dawn. She told her story to SAM FERGUSON

“I GREW up in Maindee, and have lived in Newport all my life.

I used to be a hairdresser, but when I was pregnant with my daughter I was quite unwell., so I finished work during her pregnancy.

The illness brought on Fibromyalgia, which didn’t work with hair dressing as I couldn’t stand up for long periods of time.

We decided that my husband would work and I would bring the children up.

When my son’s partner was pregnant with Brogan, we knew there would be complications from the 20 week scan.

The doctors knew from then there would be some kind of disabilities.

When Brogan was born they knew immediately that he had a hormone deficiency.

They started him on hormone replacement therapy straight away. That’s when we started getting referrals to different services.

I became Brogan’s main carer when he was very young. My son struggled to understand the medical side of it, as he has dyslexia, but he is always there for him.

But my son’s relationship with Brogan’s mother ended, and he was asked to bring him up. There was a court process we had to go through, and at the end of it I was granted a guardianship order.

To add to everything that was going on, in 2011 my husband died. It happened right in the middle of going through the custody battle.

He died from coronary artery disease, and it was totally out of the blue.

He was only 47 years old.

From then on I’ve needed Brogan as much as he needs me. The court order came through in December 2012. I’ve looked after him ever since.

During the court proceedings, Brogan started having weekly sessions at SenCom.

They’ve been there throughout his life, and have supported him with everything that’s gone on.

The SenCom staff become like your extended family.

You can just be yourself when you talk with them.

There’s nothing you can’t ask them, from medical questions to wellbeing, general information to support and guidance for children.

They help in so many different ways.

Brogan has been with the same SenCom staff for nine years.

He just wouldn’t have been able to deal with the changes they are proposing, that’s the bottom line.

It would have set him back massively, and it would have been almost guaranteed to trigger his self-harming.

The SenCom team play such a vital role in his life. He’s worked with the same people since he was three-months-old.

Any change for him is just bad news.

It just didn’t make sense. If something isn’t broken then why try to fix it, other than to save money, of course.

Just think of the trust and relationships SenCom built up with parents and children all over Gwent.

It’s children like Brogan who were going to bear the brunt of this, and they couldn’t stand up for themselves.

I was absolutely horrified when I heard Newport City Council were going to leave the service.

Within 48 hours of receiving the letter I was trying to get answers from them. I spoke to MPs and AMs, and the media of course.

An angry woman is a crazy thing to see.

I got very wrapped up in trying to find a way to stop it. I’ve done everything in my power, and Iknw I was never going to stop fighting.

I knew I would fight this to the bitter end. It was about fighting for what is right for our children.

To be honest, I sympathise with the city council because every authority is making cuts and needs to make savings.

But for me the cuts are coming from the wrong area. They are taking from the wrong people.

I’ve been featured on ITV and BBC talking about this issue, and the South Wales Argus have been helping us to fight back from the start.

It’s been daunting but if I don’t stand up for Brogan then no one else will. I don’t think I had any other option.

When a legal challenge was put forward on his behalf, I felt like there may be some light at the end of the tunnel.

The council had a good case to fight when it came to saving money, and they say the new service will be equivalent, but I just don’t believe it can be.

I think they knew it wouldn’t be too so they backed off for a year after we started legal proceedings.

I was over the mood when I heard.

It was such a relief, after months of struggling to be heard.

I just hope they have learned their lesson.

But I’m not sure this is going to be the end of it.

Once we’ve lost SenCom, it’s gone for good. I won’t stop fighting.”

On Wednesday, February 13, the council released the following statement:

“Following further talks with Welsh Government, and the offer of financial support through the Welsh Local Government Association to develop a more sustainable regional model, Newport City Council has offered to extend the withdrawal notice from the joint Gwent service until March 2020.

“Leader of Newport City Council, Councillor Debbie Wilcox, said: ‘We remain clear that the current model is not providing the best possible service for young people in Newport. However, we want to work with all authorities in Gwent to review the current regional Sencom service and hopefully agree a model that meets everyone’s requirements.

‘We have to balance our responsibilities to service users with our broader responsibility to ensure value for money for all council taxpayers which means we are not able to continue with the existing set-up. However, with agreement from the other local authorities, we will now have time to consider how the service can be improved or remodelled so that it is fit-for-purpose for all users.’

“Newport City Council has approached the other Gwent authorities regarding the proposed extension of the withdrawal notice from the current regional Sencom service until March 2020.”

Local authority leaders in Gwent will now meet to consider Newport’s proposals.