Understanding the Manifestos: What the Prospective Governments Will Do for Families with Disabled Children

As the UK heads towards the general election next week, families with disabled children are keenly observing party manifestos to understand what the future might hold. Navigating the challenges of supporting a child with disabilities requires robust and reliable support from the government.

The Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) has called on all parties to prioritise disabled children and their families. They advocate for the appointment of a Minister for Disabled Children and the production of a cross-party disabled children’s strategy. This non-partisan approach seeks to unify support across the political spectrum.

Here, we have scoured the main parties' manifestos, and pulled out any mentions of support for children with special educational needs, or support for families with disabled children, hopefully making your life a little easier.

Conservative Party

The Conservative Party The Conservative Party has historically focused on economic stability and growth, which they argue creates the conditions for better support services. However, specific commitments to disabled children and their families have not been the centrepiece of their previous campaigns. For this election, they have committed to several key areas:

Transforming education for children with special educational needs, ending the postcode lottery of support by delivering 60,000 more school places and a further 15 new free schools for children with special educational needs.

Addressing the unsustainable rise in benefit claims for people of working age with a disability or health condition by reforming disability benefits so they are better targeted and reflect people’s genuine needs, while delivering a step-change in mental health provision.

Promising to improve PIP assessments to provide a more objective consideration of people’s needs and stop the number of claims from rising unsustainably. While people suffering with mental health conditions face significant challenges, it is not clear that they always face the same additional living costs as people with physical disabilities. (I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I read that last part, but it's in there.)

Green Party

The Green Party emphasises equality and sustainability, this election they have extended their vision to support families with disabled children through:

Providing £5bn to be invested in special needs (SEND) provision within mainstream schools. This means that all schools will have fully accessible buildings and specially trained teachers, and local councils will have the funds to properly support SEND students at school and in getting to school.

Restoring the value of disability benefits with an immediate uplift of 5%.

Opposing plans to replace Personal Independence Payments (PIP) cash payments with ‘vouchers’, and in the long term reform intrusive eligibility tests like PIP.

Making it mandatory for councils to provide free transport for 16–18-year-old pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability.

Pushing for an education system that is fully inclusive, with better funded support for special educational needs and all children provided with a free school meal.

Labour Party

The Labour Party Labour has traditionally been the party of social welfare, advocating for stronger support systems for the vulnerable. Key proposals include:

Taking a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

Making sure admissions decisions account for the needs of communities and require all schools to co-operate with their local authority on school admissions, SEND inclusion, and place planning

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats focus on creating a fair and inclusive society, and often emphasise the importance of education and healthcare. Their main proposals include:

Giving local authorities with responsibility for education the powers and resources to act as Strategic Education Authorities for their area, including responsibility for places planning, exclusions, administering admissions including in-year admissions, and SEND functions.

Tackling the crisis in special educational needs provision, and help to end the postcode lottery in provision, by:

• Giving local authorities extra funding to reduce the amount that schools pay towards the cost of a child’s Education, Health and Care Plan.

• Establishing a new National Body for SEND to fund support for children with very high needs.

Making the benefits system work better for disabled people by:

• Giving disabled people and organisations representing them a stronger voice in the design of benefits policies and processes.
  

• Reforming Personal Independence Payment assessments to make the process more transparent and stop unnecessary reassessments, and end the use of informal assessments

Significantly extend the electrification of Britain’s rail network, improve stations, to greatly improve disabled access.

Providing free access to sign language lessons for parents and guardians of d/Deaf children.

Scottish National Party (SNP)

While the SNP primarily operates within Scotland, their policies provide a glimpse into region-specific support for disabled children and their families:

Scrapping proposed punitive welfare reforms for sick and disabled people which will take support away from some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, and halt DWP repayment demands on Carer’s Allowance.

Each party presents a different approach to supporting families with disabled children, reflecting their broader political philosophies. As the election approaches, it is crucial for families to carefully consider these proposals, evaluating which policies align best with their needs and aspirations. By staying informed and engaged, families can make a choice that promises the best future for their children.