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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]
All parties agree Every Disabled Child Matters
At the Conservative conference fringe yesterday (Monday 2 October), shadow Ministers Jeremy Hunt MP and Maria Miller MP gave their support to the Every Disabled Child Matters campaign objectives. This follows declarations of support from Ed Balls MP for Labour and Annette Brooke MP for the Liberal Democrats.
Jeremy Hunt told the Conservative fringe meeting, ‘The way we look after families with disabled children is an absolute disgrace’. He added, ‘we absolutely support the objectives of the campaign. What you are trying to do is incredibly important. We together will transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable families’.
Brian Lamb OBE, Chair of the Special Education Consortium, who spoke at yesterday’s event, comments:
‘We are delighted that right from the word go, all the political parties are supporting our campaign. Our objectives are simple - an end to poverty in families with disabled children, an education system that meets the needs of each disabled child and the right support for all families, no matter where they live. We will be working now with all the parties to translate their support into specific policy commitments that will make a real difference to the lives of every disabled child.’
Jeremy Hunt MP told the meeting, ‘The way we look after families with disabled children is an absolute disgrace…the plight of disabled children and their families must be at the heart of Conservative social policy. He described how families’ lives are ‘turned upside down’ by the system’s failure to provide them with appropriate support. He continued - ‘parents want to put all their energies into bringing up their child - we make them put all their energies into fighting the system’.
Outlining emerging Conservative policy in relation to disabled children, Jeremy Hunt discussed the need for a single assessment process and for the statementing system in special education to be reformed. Maria Miller MP highlighted the need for improved teacher training and earlier intervention to meet the needs of young disabled children.
Concluding his remarks, Jeremy Hunt called for the right support for ‘parents who just want to be parents, families who just want to be families and kids who want the fulfilled childhood they truly deserve’.
Following the conference launch events, Every Disabled Child Matters is calling for 10,000 supporters to sign up at our campaign website - www.edcm.org.uk - and is promoting our campaign briefing, Between a rock and a hard place, which shows that the national childcare strategy is failing disabled children. The next wave of Every Disabled Child Matters campaign activity will focus on local authorities, including the launch of a local authority charter (week commencing 16th October).
