A brand new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to support parents facing every family’s worst nightmare has been formally set up following an inaugural meeting in Parliament.
The Group, which has been inspired by the Harry’s Pledge campaign of which we’re a founding member, is called the ‘All-Party Parliamentary Group on Emotional Support for Parent Carers of Seriously Ill and Disabled Children’, and its primary aim is to ensure that every parent of a child with a severe life-limiting or life-threatening condition has access to emotional support.
Matt Bishop, Labour MP for Forest of Dean, was elected to chair the Group. Matt has passionately led the charge to launch the Group after hearing more about the plight of parent carers during an event at the Labour Party Conference in September.
He said: “Too many parent carers are left to cope alone at the moment their world changes forever.
“This APPG will ensure their voices are heard and turned into real action, and I am proud to stand with Harry’s Pals to help drive this meaningful change.”
Vice-chair will be Shockat Adam, Independent MP for Leicester South, while Baroness Sue Gray and Stuart Andrew, Conservative MP for Daventry, are officers of the APPG. Alison Bennett, Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Sussex, will be a Member of the Group.
The Group’s secretariat will be the Harry’s Pals charity, founded by Hayley Charlesworth, which has been the inspiration behind delivering meaningful change for carers and the people they care for.
We’ll be supporting Harry’s Pals in this role, having been the driving force behind the Harry’s Pledge campaign to support carers, which is backed by over 100 organisations.
Julie Doyle, Chief Executive, said: “Forming the APPG represents a real milestone moment for the Harry’s Pledge campaign and I’m so proud of the leading role that Amplius has played. Being in Parliament and hearing how engaged a range of MPs and Peers are with this issue gives me real hope that more support will be provided to parents with critically ill children.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to Matt Bishop MP and his team for making this happen and to all of the people and organisations who have supported Harry’s Pledge. This focus on parent carers is just one of the four commitments set out in the Pledge as we look to enhance accessibility across the housing sector and ensure greater support and recognition for people who provide care and those they care for.”
Hayley Charlesworth added: “We’re incredibly proud to be the secretariat of this APPG that will be a key catalyst in helping us work towards a future where parents receiving a heartbreaking diagnosis about their child are automatically offered emotional support as standard.
“From personal experience and the experiences of the parents we support at Harry’s Pals, we know just how devastating this life-changing news can be. A study by Doctor Siobhan O’Dwyer of Birmingham University shows how deeply this affects parent careers with 41% of them admitting to thinking about suicide.
“By providing earlier interventions, we can support parents, and their children while also reducing the longer-term impact on the NHS and social services.”