Working-age adults such as my son, who is autistic, face an unreliable system, yet ministers talk only of a national care service for older people, says Guardian columnist John Harris

Family says autistic son's progress is at risk after specialist college funding ended.

On 2 July last year, the Local Government Association published a report on the future of home to school transport. It predicted spending by councils was going to ‘soar’ and would reach nearly £2 billion by the end of 25/26. The report recommended scrapping the current statutory right to transport…

Why this matters now The Government is proposing to expand information-sharing between services and create new child protection teams. This will increase suspicionand investigation My research publish...

Why this matters now The Government is proposing to expand information-sharing between services and create new child protection teams. This will increase suspicionand investigation My research published 26 August 2026, found that when councils introduced MASHs — systems for police, social work and others to share information about families — child protection investigations increased sharply, without […]

The Joint Committee on Human Rights has called for widespread reforms to the children’s social care system to improve the quality of support and life-long outcomes for people in care and care le...

Parent-carers of disabled children are exposed to chronic levels of extreme stress and often reach crisis point before help is available – then they face a ‘fight for basic support’, experts say. This is Matilda Davis’s story

Social care reform has failed in the UK for 25 years. Four international examples show what a lasting fix actually requires.

When Grant McPherson, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, temporarily went into care, his father Leonard McPherson had no idea they would be separated for so long. During that time, Grant su...

YouTube video by Oliver Lewis

It’s late afternoon on Friday and you’re done for the week. So read this instead

"There is growing concern among parents and charities about the Government’s proposed SEND reforms, including the potential weakening of the SEND Tribunal. Ministers have yet to clarify whether they w...

Reforming the law

The starting point for this article must be to stress that the law has not changed. Children and young people with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are not going to ‘lose’ them any time soon, o...

Already struggling to get help, families with children with special needs are concerned changes could make things worse

This is a campaign led by survivors, clinicians, social workers and academics. The campaign is calling for: Immediate withdrawal of the FII label and associated guidance Creation of new, evidence-base...

Keir Starmer's meltdown surely makes any drastic cutting-back of families' rights even more politically reckless, but that doesn't mean it won't happen

Long-term claimants of employment and support allowance could be moved over to a new, time-limited disability benefit – equating to cuts.

Starmer’s ailing government is happy to pursue ideas like cutting Motability, but all ministers will do is damage lives and themselves, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan

A comprehensive analysis has found no scientific evidence supporting the hypothesis that the gut microbiome causally contributes to autism.