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Ed Balls MP: "It's not just Every Child Matters, it's Every Disabled Child Matters"
Minister supports campaign to get rights and justice for every disabled child
Campaign Launch Release - for immediate release
Tuesday 26 September 2006
At a packed Labour conference fringe today (Tuesday 26 September), Economic Secretary Ed Balls MP offered his support to the objectives of the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign. This followed the description of services for disabled children as one of the ‘greatest failures of social policy’ in Chancellor Gordon Brown’s speech to conference yesterday (Monday 25).
Responding to a speech by Jo Williams CBE, Mencap Chief Executive, Mr Balls said.
‘This campaign is hugely important, not just for disabled children and their families but for the government’.
Mr Balls told delegates that he supported the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign objectives - full inclusion in society for disabled children and their families; the right support and services for disabled children and families, wherever they live; and an end to poverty amongst disabled children by 2020.
In his speech, Mr Balls highlighted three key issues for families with disabled children - a shortage of respite and short break services, a lack of service co-ordination and the need for early intervention. He stated that transition to adulthood for disabled children was ‘a hugely neglected part of the policy debate’.
Mr Balls concluded, ‘For me as a Labour MP and Minister, this is ultimately about fairness and social justice. Because if we are serious about ending child poverty and building a fairer society, as this government is deeply committed to, then we must do more for the disabled children and their families in my constituency and in every constituency across the country. It is only by giving every child the best possible start in life, by recognising that every child and every disabled child matters, that we can build a truly just society.’
Following the Minister’s declaration of support, Francine Bates, chair of the meeting and Chief Executive of Contact a Family, said
‘We are thrilled to have the support of an influential Minister for the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign. Ed Balls has already helped drive disabled children and their families up the political agenda - and the Chancellor’s speech is evidence of this. The campaign will be working to translate this support into more rights and better services for all disabled children.’
The event marked the launch of the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign website - www.edcm.org.uk - and a campaign briefing, Between a rock and a hard place, which shows that the national childcare strategy is failing disabled children. The aim is for 10,000 individuals to log onto the website and register their support for the campaign by Christmas 2006. A range of Every Disabled Child Matters campaign activity will roll out in the coming months.
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ENDS
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Notes to Editors:
For further photographs of Ed Balls and Jo Williams speaking at the launch event, information on Every Disabled Child Matters, media copies of Between a rock and a hard place or to arrange interviews and/or case studies, please contact:
Steve Broach, Campaign Manager, Every Disabled Child Matters
07879 638 102
[email protected]
Every Disabled Child Matters is a campaign by four organisations working with disabled children and their families: Contact a Family, Council for Disabled Children, Mencap and the Special Educational Consortium. It is a three-year campaign funded by a grant from the True Colours Trust, a Sainsbury’s family trust.
Between a rock and a hard place highlights that childcare for disabled children is neither fit for purpose nor affordable. The Childcare Act 2006 offers the promise of more childcare places and introduces specific duties for disabled children. However government will fail to deliver the promise for disabled children without additional funding to increase the supply and affordability of childcare places and so help families with a disabled child lift themselves out of poverty. The campaign briefing makes specific recommendations to central and local government to deliver appropriate childcare and remove the barriers to employment experienced by parents of disabled children.
In response to Between a rock and a hard place, the campaign is calling for:
- A national disability childcare fund to develop a skilled workforce and increase the supply of childcare places
- A new target for Local Area Agreements to increase the stock and take up of childcare by families with a disabled child
- Every local authority to develop and implement a local disability childcare strategy, based on an audit of demand and unmet need
The Between a rock and a hard place campaign briefing and flyer are funded by the European Social Fund under the Equal Community.
Following the launch, Every Disabled Child Matters will bring forward a Private Member’s Bill to create a minimum entitlement to short breaks for families with disabled children. This will be based on the Bill introduced by Ed Balls in the last parliamentary session. The campaign is already supporting both the current government review of services for disabled children, and the parliamentary hearings that have run alongside this review.
There is significant research and policy evidence to show that disabled children and their families experience multiple disadvantages compared to other children and their families. For example, disabled children are 13 times more likely to be excluded from school than other children.
A report by the Audit Commission in 2003 stated that ‘the time for a major turnaround in disabled children’s services is long overdue. The urgency of the situation is growing. Not only are some services provided at unacceptably low standards, but the prevalence of certain needs is increasing. Without change, the situation can only get worse.'
