In the Celebrity Big Brother house, Katie Hopkins took a swipe at the mum of five when she revealed she was helped by the government when it came down to certain aspects of Harvey’s care, telling her she should pick up the tab herself.
However Katie hit back, saying: “Do you know how f***ing expensive that would be? Ridiculous.
“To have a driver to day to take me to London and back is up to a grand a day... It's a ridiculous amount, that would be a stupid amount a week.”
The 36 year old’s reply split the public with some people claiming she should have to pay for his care – transport to and from his school and a nurse who stays with him – herself, while others argued that as a taxpayer, Katie was entitled to the support.
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As the argument spilled onto social media and continued to grow, Katie’s reps released a statement to clear up the issue.
It read: “We hope the below helps other parents in similar situations:
“Harveys school placement was assessed and agreed by the Local authority. When this was done transport costs were included in the calculation. This was done because Harvey has a Statement of Special Educational Needs because of his disabilities. Within this Statment it includes the name of the school Harvey must attend.
“Where any child that is placed in school out of the immediate home area it is the Local Authorities DUTY to provide transport that meets the childs needs. This is common practice for all disabled children as there are not enough suitable schools available to them.
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“The cost of the school placement together with transport is not means tested as it is provided for the child. Local Authorities do not have special needs schools locally as these have been closed during the last 15 years as it was deemed a cheaper option to transport children out of borough.”
It continued: “If Harvey’s school was on his doorstep as with schools for healthy children then this would not apply but it was the Governments choice to close the special needs schools.
“The education law states that the local authority must provide transport to and from the school that is named in the statement. This must be appropriate to the child’s needs and include the provision of an escort (in Harvey’s case a nurse) who is trained to cope with the child’s medical needs.
“The escort (nurse) is because Harvey’s condition is life threatening and has to have someone capable of giving emergency injections to save his life.
“Kate’s calculation of £1000 per day is based on hiring her private driver and a private nurse, to drive to and from her home to Harvey’s school twice a day (which is 1.5 hrs drive each way). This is not the sum that local authority pays.”
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