Here to Care, Not to Battle - Parental Rights for Disabled Adults UK

27/04/2026

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/760892

Amend the law so Parental Responsibility continues beyond 18 where a capacity assessment between the ages of 16-18 confirms the young person severely and permanently lacks capacity, with oversight safeguards, removing the need for families to apply for costly, Court of Protection Deputyship.

24/03/2026

534 people have signed in just 2 days.
Help us hit 1,000 signatures by tomorrow.
If you’ve already signed, thank you. Now please share it. This only changes if we push it together.

Amend the law so Parental Responsibility continues beyond 18 where a capacity assessment between the ages of 16-18 confirms the young person severely and permanently lacks capacity, with oversight safeguards, removing the need for families to apply for costly, Court of Protection Deputyship.

24/03/2026

New petition is now LIVE. Same mission, stronger push.
If you supported before, I need you again.
If you missed it, this is your time to sign.
Sign it. Share it.

Amend the law so Parental Responsibility continues beyond 18 where a capacity assessment between the ages of 16-18 confirms the young person severely and permanently lacks capacity, with oversight safeguards, removing the need for families to apply for costly, Court of Protection Deputyship.

12/02/2026

The petition has now officially closed.
20,147 people signed it.

Twenty thousand voices stood up and said this system is not good enough for families of disabled young adults who severely lack capacity.
Every single signature mattered.

To every person who signed, shared, messaged, reposted, or stood beside this campaign, thank you. You didn’t ignore it.

This is not the end.

I will be setting up a new petition and I will continue to do so until the law changes. If that means submitting ten, I will submit ten. If that means standing outside Parliament again, I will stand there. Change does not happen because we ask once. It happens because we refuse to go away.

When the new link is live, I will share it. I would truly appreciate you signing again and sharing again. Momentum is built through consistency.

Behind the scenes, I am working relentlessly. Meetings, emails, evidence, strategy. Petition or no petition, this fight continues. This is about protection and fairness for families who should not have to battle the system to care for their own child.

07/01/2026

At midnight on their 18th birthday, parents lose their legal rights over their disabled child.

Not because of abuse.
Not because of safeguarding concerns.
Because the law says so.

Disability and lack of capacity do not end at 18.
Families should not have to go to court to keep protecting their children when they have been their safeguard for the past 18years.

Sign the petition.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/734243

03/01/2026

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and a happy New Year. I truly hope 2026 brings health, strength and positivity to you and the people you love.

We now have one month left of this petition. One month to reach 100,000 signatures and force the change that families like ours should never have had to fight for in the first place.

If you have already signed, thank you. It matters more than you know.
If you have shared it before, please share it again.
If you have not signed yet, now is the time.
This final month is about momentum. It is about showing that parents and carers will not stay quiet when the system fails our children.

Please keep signing. Please keep sharing. Please help us push this over the line.
Together, we can make 2026 the year this changes for good.

Change the law to automatically allow parents or carers to retain parental responsibility when their disabled child turns 18, if the child lacks capacity and remains in the parent’s care. We think this would remove the need for costly and unnecessary applications to the Court of Protection.

19/12/2025

Last night, my petition calling for a change in the law so parents can continue advocating for their disabled children after 18 was referenced on ITV News Granada.

It came through another family’s story, which shows how widespread this issue is. When a disabled young person turns 18, parents lose their legal voice overnight, even where their child lacks capacity and remains in full-time parental care.

Families are then forced into costly and distressing Court of Protection applications simply to keep doing what they have always done, protect their child.

Almost 19,000 people have now signed this petition.

Thank you to everyone supporting this.

Change the law to automatically allow parents or carers to retain parental responsibility when their disabled child turns 18, if the child lacks capacity and remains in the parent’s care. We think this would remove the need for costly and unnecessary applications to the Court of Protection.

03/12/2025

Update on the campaign.

I have had a response from Andy Slaughter MP, Chair of the Justice Committee, and there are several positives that need shouting about.

He has recognised the reality that parents are being pushed through a lengthy, costly and draining deputyship process when they are already carrying the weight of caring for a disabled young adult. He has acknowledged that the idea of parental responsibility continuing past 18, where capacity is clearly lacking and there are no safeguarding concerns, deserves investigation. That is a huge statement in itself.

He has also confirmed that Members of the Justice Committee are already interested in looking at the work of the Court of Protection and that my concerns are now officially on record. This means our campaign is tied directly to a topic that is already on their long list and will be examined.

This is progress. Real progress.

I have now submitted full written evidence to support this reform and to make sure our voices are included when the Committee begins its inquiry. Every step forward matters and I will keep pushing until families get the protection they should already have.

We keep going.

24/11/2025

Today I submitted formal written evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee.

My evidence sets out a clear framework for reform that protects disabled adults, strengthens safeguarding and reduces the pressure on NHS teams, adult social care and the Court of Protection. This is not only the right thing for families, it is the right thing for government systems that are already overwhelmed.

The message is simple: the law is not working, and the consequences are too serious to ignore.
Reform is not optional. It is necessary.

If you want to read more please send us a message to request this and if you would like to support the campaign, the petition is still open and every signature matters.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/734243

21/11/2025

We were delighted to welcome Toni Hibbert back to Imagination Street last week. After previously hosting her social support group with us, she returned to film a powerful interview in our media room as part of her national campaign to change the law for disabled young people. She is highlighting how parents currently lose all legal rights the moment their disabled child turns 18.

We have supported Toni over the last few weeks and it's great to see everything she is doing to try and make a change.

If you need a space to film, interview or create great social media content? Our media room is ready when you are! 🎥 🎙️💚

Contact Hayley to pop in and take a look! 👀

[email protected]