15 April 2008

Campaigners for disabled children and young people have published a manifesto for disabled children ahead of the local elections on 1 May 2008. The manifesto has been produced by the Disabled Children Matter Wales Campaign, which aims to ensure that all disabled children and young people have the same everyday opportunities as other children and young people. The manifesto calls on councillors to make disabled children and their families a priority over the next four years. Recent reports (see note 3) have shown that the current way that services are provided for disabled children and young people is failing to meet their needs. The challenge over the next three years will be to pave the way for the transformation of services supporting disabled children so that they have the same everyday opportunities as other children.

The Disabled Children Matter Wales Campaign want disabled children, young people and their families to have:

• The right information at the right time
• A real choice in education
• The health services they need to live an ordinary life
• Access to play and leisure
• A say in planning the services they receive
• Access to community facilities
• Enough money to live on

Zoë Richards from Learning Disability Wales, one of the co-ordinators of the campaign, said: "It is important that disabled children and young people’s services are highlighted as a priority area in the Local Authority’s planning processes in order to ensure there is a significant improvement of services for disabled children and their families. "

ENDS

Notes:

1. The manifesto was launched on 15 April 2008. It can be downloaded from the Disabled Children Matter Wales Campaign website at www.dcmw.org.uk
2. The Disabled Children Matter Wales Campaign was launched in September 2007. It aims to ensure that that disabled children, young people and their families get the rights that they deserve. It is led by a partnership between Children in Wales, Contact a Family Wales, Learning Disability Wales and Mencap Cymru.
3. The Children’s National Service Framework Report 06/07 published by Welsh Assembly Government shows that services for disabled children and their families are consistently the weakest area of service delivery across Wales.

Cath Lewis, Development Officer, Disability, Children in Wales, Tel: 029 2034 2434, e-mail: catherine.lewis@childreninwales.org.uk