Every Disabled Child Matters
c/o Council for Disabled Children
National Children's Bureau
8 Wakley Street
London EC1V 7QE
tel +44 (0)20 7843 6448
fax +44 (0)20 7843 6313
[email protected]

Government commits to making every disabled child matter

21 May 2007

After months of campaigning across the disabled children’s sector, EDCM is delighted that the government is today announcing significant new investment - £340 million of new money over the next three years - to improve services for disabled children and their families.

This announcement demonstrates a real commitment from government to do much more to ensure families with disabled children are able to lead ordinary lives. The new funding is set to be allocated to key areas such as short breaks, childcare and transition to adulthood.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, Economic Secretary Ed Balls MP announced that:
* £280 million of the new money will be allocated to short breaks
* Government will support a parent forum in every local area to help shape services
* The review has the full backing of both Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown

The government’s report from the Disabled Children’s Review - 'Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families', delivers further investment to ensure services are better co-ordinated and that families have more choice in how they are delivered.

Francine Bates OBE, Chief Executive of Contact a Family and a board member of the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign, comments:
‘This new investment will start to transform the lives of families with disabled children all over the country. It shows that when the government says that every child matters, this really does mean every disabled child too. The money is reward for all the efforts by our coalition of organisations and families to get our issues higher up the agenda’.

Dame Jo Williams DBE, Chief Executive of Mencap and a board member of the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign, comments:
‘Currently, only one in 13 families get any form of specialist support in caring for their disabled child. This announcement means that by 2011, many more families will be getting the support they need. This is a huge step forward - but it also needs to be seen as a downpayment on the longer-term change required.’

The Disabled Children’s Review is a joint review carried out by HM Treasury and the Department for Education and Skills, as part of the government’s wider Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. EDCM will continue to lobby government to ensure disabled children are a priority in future spending reviews, so that the level of support for families will continue to improve.

The full report and government press announcement will be available later this morning. EDCM will link to the government report from our website as soon as it is published.

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� National Children's Bureau 2006 � Reg Charity No. 258825