We’ve handed the #RunningOnEmpty petition into Downing Street. What next?

On Tuesday 12 September, Team Young Lives went to 10 Downing Street and handed the #RunningOnEmpty petition, with over 11,500 signatures, through the iconic black door.

But what happens now? Here’s Lauren, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, to explain…

“Handing in the petition was a huge milestone for the #RunningOnEmpty campaign – a huge thank you to everyone who has signed it so far. If you haven’t, you can still add your name and help us grow our support further.

“By handing the petition in at 10 Downing Street, all 11,500 of us (and counting) have now asked the UK Government to create a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund. So what happens next?

“Firstly, we need the UK Government to respond to us, which we hope they will do soon. We hope this will be positive and that we can work with them to implement a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund so that children and young people with cancer and their families get the support they need for travel costs to hospital.

“Shortly after we handed in the petition, Amy Callaghan MP also presented the petition in the House of Commons, formally raising it onto the parliamentary record.

“While we wait for a response from UK Government, me and the rest of the Young Lives vs Cancer Policy team are continuing to contact and meet with representatives in Westminster, to speak to them about #RunningOnEmpty and get their support. By gaining support across parliament, we have more people who we can work with to try and make a Fund a reality, and if it comes to being voted on in Parliament, we will have support for this too.

“Our campaign isn’t just trying to convince UK Government to take action – we’re also meeting and working with representatives from the Welsh Senedd and Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly about creating a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund that works for those in Wales and Northern Ireland too.

“In Scotland, we’ve had lots of meetings with Scottish Government and members of Scottish Parliament about expanding the Young Patients Family Fund that already exists in Scotland. We hope these discussions will also have a positive result.

“You might be thinking, “but what if the UK Government says they won’t create a Fund?”. Well, we really hope this doesn’t happen, because this Fund is so vitally needed. If they do say no, or if they’re not sure, we will aim to work with them to share more evidence and research about why travel costs is a big issue and, if needed, we’ll ramp up our campaigning efforts and make more noise until we get the attention we need.

“Whatever happens next, we’ll need you, our amazing supporters. Whether this is to help celebrate securing a Fund or to help us campaign further, we can’t do this without you. Together we are a stronger voice to help make change happen for children and young people with cancer.”

Visit our campaigns page to keep up to date.