Getting your MP to attend

We want as many MPs as possible to know about and attend the All Party Parliamentary Group for Looked-After Children and Care Leavers so they can encourage the Government to improve the care system. 

It would be great if you could tell your MP about the group and ask them to come along and meet you.

How to contact your MP

First things first, do you know who your MP is?  If not, you can find out on www.theyworkforyou.com. There is a box where you can type in your postcode and it will tell you who your MP is. You can also find out the kinds of things they talk about in Parliament and how they vote on some issues.

The next step is to write them a letter. We have provided a suggested letter for you below. It has all the key information which MPs might need, but it is always worth adding the personal touch. MPs get a lot of letters and yours will stand out if it is in your words and talks about your experiences.

[The name of your MP]
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Dear [name of your MP]

There are around 88,000 looked-after children in the United Kingdom. They need to be looked-after by local authorities for a wide range of reasons, but they all some things in common.  They need a warm, loving home, good support for their education and health and the right to have a say in how they are cared for.  They also need to have the right help to succeed once they leave care.

Not all looked-after children and care leavers get this support.  

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Looked-After Children and Care Leavers was formed in 1998 and since then has been voice for all those who want to improve the care system and make sure they get a fair deal. The Chair of the group is Edward Timpson MP.

We meet five times a year and the meetings help people in Parliament understand what it is like to be looked-after, what is good, what needs to change and what you can do to help.  

It would be great if you could come to our next meeting on [insert date - you can find details about the next meeting here].   

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]

News

• Is more support needed for children who run away or go missing from care? - 26-Mar-2012
• Government policies on access to further and higher education abandon care leavers to the whims of localism, says report - 16-Mar-2012
• The Trust calls for Government to look wider than adoption - 14-Mar-2012

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