Our campaigning role

CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity, and the only organisation to speak solely for all cancer patients from 0-24 years of age regardless of the type of cancer they have. Beyond the patients themselves, we also think about how parents and families are affected by a child’s cancer diagnosis.

An important part of this work, carried out by CLIC Sargent’s campaigns team, is to represent the needs of these patients and their families to government, politicians, and other policymakers.  Through this campaigning activity we seek to ensure that the specific needs of children and young people with cancer are taken into account in the planning and delivery of health services, and in the provision of disability benefits, education and employment.

Our campaigns work involves:

Advocating

We carry out detailed research with the patients and families we support to identify the problems and difficulties they experience.  By listening to them we can understand what needs to change to help them better cope with the unimaginable consequences of a child cancer diagnosis.  Once we know where government is letting these families down, we begin our work to improve it.

Engaging

We talk to MPs, civil servants and others to make them aware of the issues affecting children and young people with cancer and their families and to ask them to support changes in policy that will improve the quality of life of those dealing with these cancers.

Responding

Periodically Parliament and Government hold inquires and consultations into aspects of policy that are relevant to the children and young people with cancer or their families.  CLIC Sargent will provide responses to these consultations to ensure that the expertise of the organisation is added to these debates.

Supporting

An important part of CLIC Sargent’s campaigning mission is to help families make their own case, and get the services and support they are entitled to.  CLIC Sargent works with families to offer them the advice and skills they might need when speaking with doctors, benefits advisors and others.