That this House congratulates the Family Fund on its campaign for funding to extend its grant-making powers to low income families with severely disabled or seriously ill children who are 16 or over; urges the Government to increase the Family Fund's annual grant to enable them to do this; recognises the injustice of financial help from the Fund stopping at the age of 16 and understands the hardships families experience as a consequence; further recognises that families are often forced into serious debt as a result of meeting the costs of their child's needs, which are three times as high for a disabled child as they are for others; and acknowledges the vital contribution that Family Fund grants make on a daily basis to the lives of around 45,000 families annually who are helped with anything that alleviates the stresses and strains of having a severely disabled child, be it a stress-relieving family holiday or basic household goods that are an essential part of enabling these families to enjoy the ordinary life that most people take for granted.

That this House congratulates the Family Fund on its campaign for funding to extend its grant-making powers to low income families with severely disabled or seriously ill children who are 16 or over; urges the Government to increase the Family Fund's annual grant to enable them to do this; recognises...