Roundtable brings together MP and local parent carers
3 mins read
Tuesday 1 September 2026
Last Tuesday our programme A Future For All brought together forum members, parent carers and children and the local MP to discuss a range of issues affecting families with disabled children.
Contact and our partner organisation Hope for the Future hosted the roundtable with Anna Dixon MP. 16 adults and children, including four parent carers, from the Shipley attended. So too did the parent carer forum for Bradford & Airedale.
Education and mental health discussed
A Future For All aims to empower families with disabled children to have a voice in climate and nature issues. Some participants attended the roundtable primarily to discuss climate and environmental concerns. Parent carers shared experiences connecting climate and access to nature with the challenges faced by disabled children and young people. These included access to education, special educational needs (SEN) provision and mental health services.
Parent carers shared powerful accounts of disabled and neurodivergent children being failed by education and mental health services, including:
- Children who had been excluded or had become too unwell to attend school.
- Families struggled to secure CAMHS support, specialist teaching, alternative provision or suitable online education.
- In one case, support promised in a letter from CAMHS nine months before had still not been delivered. This left a 16-year-old without GCSEs, not in education, employment or training (NEET), and their family in crisis.
Access to nature and electric vehicles
The discussion highlighted the importance of access to nature, following on from our outdoor events across Yorkshire this summer. One parent described how her son, previously labelled as ‘dangerous’ because his behaviour challenged, was now thriving as an adult with frequent and regular access to outdoor space and activities.
Discussing environment and climate, one constituent also raised the higher cost of electric vehicles through Motability. Anna agreed to raise this with Daniel Francis MP, a member of the Transport Committee who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Disability Equipment.
Julie Bruce, manager of the parent Forum for Bradford & Airedale, said:
“Anna Dixon MP seemed very receptive to hearing directly from families about their experiences of the SEND system and the changes they want to see. This was also a great opportunity to raise awareness of the work we do at the forum to champion the voice of parent carers of disabled children locally and the challenges families face in getting the support they need to thrive and access good healthcare and education.”
Government focus on employment and carer support
Anna talked about the government’s focus on young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) and children and young people’s mental health. She also highlighted the importance of support for carers and the early identification of need. She said she would continue to pursue this as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on carers.
Mary Mulvey-Oates represented Contact at the roundtable. She reflected the experiences shared by parent carers who described reaching crisis point. She shared Contact’s concern that families should not be without access to social care assessments, appropriate provision and respite support. Anna said she would continue to work with fellow MPs and use the APPG to highlight the needs of families.