Parent campaigners take Counting the Costs to parliament

3 mins read

Thursday 5 December 2024

Last night, we launched Counting the Costs, our research on family finances, in Parliament.  We invited a group of parent carers to a meeting hosted by Labour MP, Ben Coleman.

Parents had the opportunity to present their ideas on the change needed to the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Stephen Timms MP.

Forced out of the labour market

Counting the Costs found two thirds of parent carers have given up paid work or reduced hours, on average losing £21,174 a year from their family income. This was echoed by parents at the meeting in Parliament.

Their message to MPs and the Minister was loud and clear things must improve. Ideas were put forward such as opening up special schools in the holidays to improve access to childcare.

In response to the findings Contact is calling for a child poverty strategy that increases incomes and reduces extra costs for families with disabled children.

Claiming benefits is a minefield

Counting the Costs also found that the benefit system feels like a minefield for most, especially those that don’t have support from Contact’s specialist advice services. Contact can help families get the financial support they are entitled to, making the process of claiming less stressful. However, we can’t reach everyone who needs our help.

Danielle bravely tackled the issue of backdating additional Universal Credit amounts for disabled children and carers with the Minister. An issue that Contact deals with a lot and will be pressing the Minister for a solution.

Parent campaigner Andrew, also talked about the need to unlock £210 millions of savings held in Child Trust Funds of disabled young people. A campaign Contact is proud to support.

Thank you

Some of the feedback from parents that came to Parliament yesterday highlights why our campaign work is so important.

It was such a fantastic experience yesterday, and I really hope our voices will motivate the much needed changes in the areas we struggle.

All our circumstances and children are different, but we’re all fighting battles to get the support we need for them. I’m sure the event will have helped MPs appreciate the difficulties we face.  We’re so lucky to have the support of the fantastic team at Contact.

Thank you again to everyone who completed the Counting the Costs survey. Thank you to the parents who came to Parliament and also the parents who spoke out in the BBC, in the Mirror, Sun and Express newspaper about our Counting the Costs findings.

How you can help

This week we are asking our supporters to make a donation to our Lifeline Appeal. Donations can help us boost family incomes through our specialist advice and campaigns for better financial support for families.

Donations are doubled by the Big Give until Tuesday 10 December.