After 14 years at Westminster, this is my first opportunity to introduce my own Bill. But why the Disabled Children (Family Support) Bill?

I have long believed that we do not do enough for disabled people andtheir families. Over the years, many parents have come to my advicesurgeries only too happy to look after their disabled love one, butoften exhausted and asking for the occasional break.

Families with disabled children need and deserve more support. In arecent survey, eight out of 10 families with severely disabled childrentold Mencap that they were at, or close to, breaking point. Support ispatchy and inadequate and, in some areas, the level of service is goingdown. For instance, a third of parents receiving any sort of short breakservice have reported a cut in the amount of hours they get.

As a result, my Bill would create a specific duty on local authoritiesand health agencies to provide short breaks for families caring forseverely disabled children. These are children who are eligible forservices under the Children Act 1989, but only a tiny minority - one in13 according to the Commission for Social Care Inspection - are actuallygetting any support.

In addition, if the Bill became law, short break providers would have toshow how they were of positive benefit, guarding against the low-qualitybreaks too many families are offered at present.

Whether this Bill becomes law will depend mainly on the Government.

It has cross-party support, but it comes with a price tag. It isunreasonable to impose yet more duties on local authorities and primarycare trusts without funding. The Government is itself reviewing itssupport for disabled families and earnest discussions with ministers arein hand. So fingers crossed.

You can show your support for the Every Disabled Child Matters campaignand the Bill by signing up at www.edcm.org.uk. And, on the same site,you can send a reminder to your MP of how important it is to be in theHouse of Commons on Friday 23 February to vote for this crucialBill.

- Gary Streeter is the Conservative MP for Devon South West and issponsoring the Disabled Children (Family Support) Bill in Parliament.