Blaenau Gwent MP Nick Smith attended an awards ceremony this week to celebrate parents and grandparents who look after children with disabilities.

On Monday, July 8 Contact – the national charity that supports families with disabled children – held its awards ceremony at the Palace of Westminster, hosted by BBC Radio 4’s Jane Garvey.

Nick Smith MP was delighted to meet Swffryd great grandmother Pam Johnson who won in the Grandparent category for the care she provides to her five-year-old great grandson Theo who has autism.

Nick Smith MP said: “It was an extremely moving evening and a great chance to celebrate all the amazing things families do when caring for a child with a disability.
“I was especially delighted that Pam won in her category. We had a lovely chat and she is a deserving winner.
“I want to applaud Pam and all the families who attended.”

Pam Johnson said: “I was totally shocked that I won because there are thousands of people who do the same as me every day, supporting a child with a disability. It was an honour to win.”

Amanda Batten, CEO at Contact said: “It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate all the positives that come along with being a family with a disabled child.

“At Contact we are all about families and, because of the nature of the services we offer, we naturally hear a lot about when things go wrong for families – struggling to get the right services and support for their child, public attitudes to disability or pressure on relationships for instance.

“We established our unique awards to recognise when things go right too. We were overwhelmed by the number of nominations we received, and the inspiring stories families told us. Well done to all our finalists – they are all champions in our eyes.”