SERVICES FOR SEVERELY DISABLED CHILDREN AND ADULTS AND THEIR CARERS

Early day motion 874, tabled 24 February 2009 by Andrew George (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 122 members.

That this House wholeheartedly commends and supports the work of Michael and Henrietta Spink and the Henry Spink Foundation with regard to improving the services, and access to services, for severely disabled children, adults and their carers; has deep and profound sympathy for Henrietta and Michael Spink's personal plight as parents of two severely disabled children; sees them and the millions of other carers in the UK as quietly heroic; further supports Henrietta and Michael Spink's call, which is supported and being advocated by the Law Commission, for the creation of an independent Social Services Tribunal, which would follow the tribunal model in other sectors; further supports their call for the creation of an Ombudsman for Disability as is found in other European Union countries; further supports their call to reform local authority regulations so that local authority care assessments and support packages for children and adults become easily portable from one authority to another; further supports their campaign to encourage public and private leisure and entertainment facilities to admit the carers for severely disabled children and adults without additional charge; and calls upon all relevant Government Ministers to bring forward the necessary changes in the law and regulations to enact these sensible, pragmatic, cost neutral reforms, that would genuinely improve the lives of thousands of carers for severely disabled children and adults across the UK, as soon as possible.

Signatures by party: Labour 57, Liberal Democrat 32, Conservative 19, DUP 5, Independent 4, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Independent Labour 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Respect 1.