The Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) is calling on MPs and Peers from all parties to publicly back the rights of disabled children by signing the #SENDABetterMessage pledge.
As the government looks to change disabled children’s services through its Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reform programme, it’s important that the existing rights of families with disabled children are protected.
Ongoing research from the DCP has revealed that over 4 in 10 families with disabled children are waiting over a year for basic services like therapies, respite care and appointments with education psychologists.
Thousands of parent carers are having to take local authorities to tribunal over not receiving the right support – and 96% of the time the hearings side with parents, showcasing how dysfunctional the system is.
We need a system that removes bureaucracy, increases accountability of service providers and ensures families with disabled children get the support they deserve, without having to fight for it.
We are therefore calling on parliamentarians from across the political spectrum to sign the #SENDABetterMessage pledge and show their support to families with disabled children in their area, and to highlight the cross-party support that exists for a fairer system of support for disabled children and families to the government.
If you are a parliamentarian and would like to sign the pledge, please email the DCP team at disabledchildrens.partnership@mencap.org.uk
The #SENDABetterMessage pledge:
“I’m backing cross-party calls for a fairer system of support for every disabled child, young person, parent carer and family member. Too many families with disabled children are having to fight through a bureaucratic and red tape filled system to get services they need, like therapies and respite care.
The government should use its wide-reaching SEND reform programme to reduce the administrative burden for families, address backlogs in services, streamline the process of obtaining support, and increase accountability in the system when service providers don’t meet legal deadline.
New policy proposals from the government must be carefully thought through, with families consulted in detail, to ensure they do not reduce any of the existing rights and entitlements that families with disabled children have.”
MPs and Peers that have signed the pledge so far include:
MPs
Alex Sobel
Andrew Selous
Apsana Begum
Barry Gardiner
Barry Sheerman
Ben Lake
Bill Esterson
Caroline Lucas
Cat Smith
Clive Betts
Clive Lewis
Daisy Cooper
Damien Moore
Dan Carden
Derek Thomas
Derek Twigg
Douglas Chapman
Emma Hardy
Emma Lewell-Buck
Henry Smith
Hilary Benn
Holly Lynch
Ian Byrne
Ian Lavery
Jeffrey Donaldson
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Wright
Jess Phillips
John McNally
Kate Green
Keir Starmer
Kerry McCarthy
Kim Johnson
Liz Twist
Maria Caulfield
Marsha de Cordova
Mary Foy
Mick Whitley
Mike Penning
Mohammed Yasin
Munira Wilson
Olivia Blake
Paula Barker
Rachael Maskell
Rosie Duffield
Rupa Huq
Sarah Champion
Sarah Olney
Siobhan Baillie
Steve Baker
Virendra Sharma
Zarah Sultana
Peers
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
Baroness Brinton
Baroness Lister of Burtersett
Baroness Ritchie
Baroness Scott
Lord Addington
Lord Hunt
Lord Storey
Lord Touhig
Lord Wigley