Opposition Day — [3rd Allotted Day] — Disabled Children — 23 Jan 2007 at 21:44

I beg to move,

That this House notes the plight of the UK's 570,000 disabled children and the 55 per cent. of their families who are living in, or on the margins of, poverty; further notes with concern the Children's Commissioner for England's view that services for disabled children are a 'national scandal'; acknowledges the link between disability and child poverty; believes that the Government's target of halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020 will not be achieved without a strategy that seeks to improve the life chances of disabled children; welcomes the interest in short breaks for families with disabled children shown by the hon. Members for Normanton and Devon South West in their previous and proposed private members' bills and looks forward to the Government's response; believes that the current system of assessment and support provided for families with disabled children is complicated, bureaucratic, costly and stressful for both disabled children and their parents; further believes that the complexity of the benefit system acts as a barrier to employment for parents of disabled children in a way that prevents social mobility and entrenches poverty; and therefore calls on the Government to build on legislative progress on disability issues made under this and previous governments by simplifying the assessment processes and reducing the complexity of the benefit system for families with disabled children in order to prevent disabled children and their families being trapped in poverty.

I beg to move, To leave out from "House" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:

"welcomes the fact that this Government acknowledged the challenges faced by disabled children and their families by publishing a report in 2005, Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People; welcomes the establishment of an Office for Disability Issues to improve coordination of disability policy across Whitehall and provide a forum for the voice of disabled people; recognises that the Government committed itself to improve outcomes for all children and young people through its change programme-Every Child Matters-which is driving change in local areas through the establishment of Children's Trusts; commends the Government in its specific focus on disabled children in the disabled children's standard of the Children's National Service Framework and the Special Educational Needs strategy, Removing Barriers to Achievement; acknowledges the Government's close working with stakeholders from the disabled children sector in developing its work programme; notes the Government's investment in support services for families with disabled children through its funding of the Family Fund and the Contact a Family national help line; commends the success of the Government's Early Support Programme for young disabled children; further commends the introduction of direct payments for families with disabled children and disabled young people, which increase choice and control and empowers those families; and congratulates the Government's commitment to further improving services for disabled children through the disability strand of the Children and Young People Policy Review.".

The House having divided: Ayes 231, Noes 288.

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