We are calling for the government to put disabled children and young people at the heart of government policy making, backed by a step-change in investment to transform childhoods across the UK.
Disabled children and young people have been overlooked by policy makers for too long and the impact is clear. A new report from the Council for Disabled Children and the Disabled Children’s Partnership highlights the constant difficulties disabled children face when seeking accessible activities, high quality care and inclusive education and demonstrates why well resourced and properly coordinated services must be a priority.
We want to see urgent action to:
- Commit to an ambitious cross-Government strategy and outcomes framework to drive improvements for babies, children and young people.
- A new approach to decision-making that places disabled children’s needs, wishes and outcomes at its heart, involving children and young people every step of the way.
- Investing more of our national wealth in improving the lives of disabled children and young people and spending strategically on early intervention and prevention.
Successive governments have failed to prioritise the needs of disabled children and their families and the impact that this has had is stark. We know that neither social care, education or health are currently meeting the needs of disabled children, with families often having to wait too long to get the help they need. It is vital that the government acts on this report’s recommendations to ensure that disabled children and their families become a clear priority.
Amanda Allard
Director of the Council for Disabled Children and Strategic Director at the National Children’s Bureau
More than one in ten children in the UK are disabled, yet their lives – and those of their families – are often invisible in debates about public services and priorities. As a result, parents face a constant battle to get the support their children need; children are not able to fulfil their potential; and families are not able to live the lives they want. This report highlights the need to prioritise disabled children and their families and the action we need to see from the new Government.
Anna Bird
Chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership and CEO of Contact