Latest news
Please check this page for our latest news and recent work.
30th January 2012 - Survey of changes to care funding
Each year the Learning Disability Coalition publishes a report into the state of social care funding in local authorities. As part of this, we are carrying out a survey of people with learning disabilities, their parents and carers to find out how social care support has changed over the last year. The survey should only take a few minutes to complete and is completely anonymous.
You can take the survey here.
20th January 2012 - Tell your MP why care matters to you!
In a few months time, the Government will publish a white paper which will set out how social care will be reformed and how it will be funded in the future. We need to make sure that social care is reformed in a way that helps everyone to access the support that they need to live their lives.
Anthea Sully, Director of the Learning Disability Coalition says "It is vital that the Government understands how important social care is to everyone. Three quarters of the people in England are affected by social care, whether they receive support, whether they are a carer for a relative or a friend or whether they work in the care sector. That's a huge number of people and it's time that made sure that politicians know why care matters to us!"
There are lots of ways that you can support the campaign:
1. Join the campaign on Facebook or Twitter.
2. Spread the word - ask your friends to join the campaign.
3. Email your MP and ask them to tell David Cameron why care matters to you.
4. Read our guide to meeting your MP and download the care matters to me logo.
5. Tell us how your meeting went.
3rd January 2012 -Charities, health organisations and care providers call on the Government to make social care a priority
Over 70 organisations and individuals, including the Learning Disability Coalition, have come together to call on the Government to make social care reform a priority in 2012. The current crisis in social care means that the system is failing to support thousands of people but the current cross-party talks and forthcoming white paper on social care creates an opportunity for real change.
You can read the letter here.
1st December 2011 - Government reverses its decision to stop the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance for people in residential care
Maria Miller, Minister for Disabled People, has today announced that the Government will no longer be cutting the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance for people in residential care.
The Learning Disability Coalition is pleased to see that common sense has prevailed. We welcome today's announcement by the Government that the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance will not be removed from people living in residential homes. The members of the LDC are working with the Government in consultation on the current Welfare Reform Bill to ensure that the introduction of Personal Independence Payments meets the additional cost of living with a disability.
11th November 2011 - High Court rules changes to the Isle of Wight's social care provision unlawful
A high court judge has ruled the Isle of Wight's plans to reduce its social care budget as unlawful, following a court case brought by the families of two men with autism. Earlier this year, the council tightened its eligibility criteria following a short consultation, which did not get enough information about the proposed changes. The judge ruled that the council didn't comply with internal council guidance about how to assess eligibility for social care and the new rules did not meet the needs of disabled people.
You can read more about the story here.
3rd November 2011 - Lord Lowe calls on Government not to remove the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
In July 2011, the Lowe Review was launched after Mencap and Leonard Cheshire Disability asked Lord Lowe to investigate the Government's proposed removal of the mobility component of DLA. Over the 12 week consultation, Lord Lowe received over 800 submissions. The findings of the Lowe Review have now been published and you can read them here.
11th October 2011 - Launch of postural care campaign for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities
A new campaign and resources from the Postural Care Action Group
The Postural Care Action Group is made up of organisations including Mencap, PAMIS, Postural Care Skills, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the College of Occupational Therapists and the Royal College of Nursing.
Beverley Dawkins OBE, national officer for PMLD at Mencap, said: “People often assume that body shape distortion is inevitable for people with multiple disabilities, but that is not actually the case.
“With correct positioning, body shape distortion is preventable and can even be corrected later in life. Failure to protect body shape can have serious health consequences – it can even result in premature death.”
The group is calling for effective support for people with multiple disabilities to protect their body shape.
Craig's story
Jenny Whinnett, whose son, Craig, had PMLD, said: “Over time, we found out about sleep systems and did some training. Once you have all the information, training and a simple understanding of the body, it all suddenly makes sense.
“From when we got the training, we didn’t realise how little time we had left with Craig. There’s no doubt in my mind that his life was shortened because of his body shape. That is why it is so important that other families find out about postural care.”
A booklet and a film (www.mencap.org.uk/posturalcare) have been launched to support the campaign. They use case studies (including Craig’s) to explore how training, information and funding for equipment can be used to ensure good postural care.
28th September 2011 - Community Care, Valuing People Now conference
On Wednesday 7th December, Community Care will be holding a conference in London aimed at social care professionals which will look at:
• Knowing your legal duties: Mitigate the potential of legal challenges around personalisation, mental capacity and safeguarding issues
• Learning how to do more with less to support your clients
• Exploring innovative approaches to deliver personal budgets amid rising eligibility thresholds and shrinking budgets
• Hearing how to provide good quality support to people in residential and supported living settings
• Gaining insight in how to continue the delivery of independence, advocacy, employment and training
Key speakers already confirm include:
Martin Coyle, Deputy Chief Executive, Action for Advocacy
Belinda Schwehr, Legal Framework Trainer and Consultant, Care and Health Law
Barbara McIntosh, Head, Children and Young People’s Programmes, Mental Health Foundation and Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities
Pete Morgan, Chair, Board of Trustees, PASAUK
Alex Fox, Chief Executive Officer, NAAPS UK
** Public sector discounts available: book before 30th November and save £50 **
Find more details and book your place on www.communitycareconferences.co.uk/learningdisabilities
Please quote LDC01 at time of booking
8th September 2011 - Radar launches 2011 Leadership Programme
The Royal Association for Disability Rights (Radar) are looking for people to take part in their Leadership programme later this year. Radar’s aim is to see more people living with a disability or health condition in leadership roles in every part of society.
Radar’s Leadership Programme provides free training for disabled people in leadership skills and invaluable one-to-one life coaching in 2 free events. At these Leadership Development Days on 10th October and 23rd November, there will be coaching sessions and workshops to help develop leadership potential, with follow up coaching after events.
The programme is particularly interested in participation from people with learning difficulties, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, people with neuro-diversity conditions and people with mental health conditions. It is these groups that are particularly under-represented in leadership positions.
If you are interested in attending follow this link or contact Carina on 0207 566 0114 or carina.schmoldt@radar.org.uk
3rd August 2011 - Learning Disability Coalition response to ODI report on Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
In 2009, the UK signed the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities which aims to make sure that disabled people are treated in the same way as everyone else. This year the Government must report back to the UN about how well it has put the Convention into practice. The Office for Disability Issues has put together a draft report on the Government’s progress, which the Learning Disability Coalition has responded to.
The LDC would like to thank all those who took part in our online survey earlier this year. It helped us to collect information on the human rights of disabled people which played a significant role in shaping our response to the UN.
You can read the ODI's report here and the LDC's response here.
28th July 2011 - LDC Director on BBC news 24
Director of the Learning Disability Coalition Anthea Sully appeared on BBC News 24 to demand a review of the system that allows people with learning disability and complex needs to be left in provision that fails them.
4th July 2011 - The Learning Disability Coalition welcomes the publication of the Dilnot report
The Dilnot Commission have spent the last year looking at the future funding of care and support and on 4th July 2011, announced their recommendations for better, fairer social care support. The LDC broadly welcomes their report, particularly the call for free state support for people who have a disability from birth. The current system is broken, and even the Government's promised extra funding for social care isn't making a difference as in many areas it isn't reaching the frontline.
There are over 1.2 million people with a learning disability in England and this is expected to rise by nearly a third over the next twenty years. Further funding is needed to meet the changes in demographics even before you look at implementing reforms.
You can read the full report here.
1st July 2011 - It's time to prioritise social care, says Anthea Sully, Director of the Learning Disability Coalition
For most of the past year we at the Learning Disability Coalition have closely following the work of the Dilnot Commission who have been looking at the funding of care and support. Although social care is something which is not widely understood by the general public anyone who comes into contact with the system becomes aware that it is difficult to understand, unfair and badly under funded. When Andrew Dilnot presents his report on July 4th there will be many hopes that this will give a springboard for turning things around and building a better and fairer social care system.
Social care is under funded and spending is relatively small, £16 billion, in comparison to £110 billion on health, and £180 billion on welfare. Because of the changing demographics and the success story of people living longer, even to stand still with the current level of provision would mean considerably more money being put into social care. At the same time that local councils are under pressure to make cuts the demand for care and support is higher than it has ever been and will continue to grow.
If the Government fails to seize this opportunity to reform the system the crisis will only deepen. Failure to provide support to people with a learning disability increases the risk of social exclusion and health problems, particularly mental illness. We need to build a system that supports everyone who needs it, regardless of age or level of need. When the NHS was founded the country was just emerging from the Second World War. Today we are four times wealthier; are we able to have the imagination and the vision to prioritise social care so that people can live the lives they want to live?
23rd June 2011 - A national response to the abuse of people with learning disabilities
A group of 86 people and organisations have come together to call on the Government to make a series of changes following the abuse of people with learning disabilities at Winterbourne View.
You can read the letter to David Cameron here or in easy read here.
15th June 2011 - How does Sunderland Council provide care to all residents who need it?
Unlike many other councils, Sunderland doesn't restrict social care provision to only those with critical or substantial needs. David Brindle explains how a focus on prevention means that people with mild and moderate needs can be effectively supported too.
You can read the full article here.
1st June 2011 - BBC Panorama investigation into abuse at a residential care home for people with learning disabilities
We were really distressed by Tuesday night's BBC Panorama investigation. Please take action and join us in calling on MPs to put the human rights of people with a learning disability at the heart of social care reform. You can take action here.
23rd May 2011 - Internship opportunity
Are you looking for an opportunity to get into campaigning on a national level?
The Learning Disability Coalition is looking for an intern to support us in our work over the summer and in the run up to the party conferences.
You can find all the details and how to apply here.
12th May 2011 - BBC survey reports north/south spending divide in social care
The BBC's survey of more than three-quarters of councils in England has shown that councils in the north are reudcing their spend on adult social care by 4.7%, whilst councils in the south are spending 2.7% more on adult social care.
You can read more about the survey here.
11th May 2011 - Hardest Hit: 8,000 disabled people march on Westminster
On Wednesday 11th May, over 8,000 disabled people took to the streets of Westminster to protest against the Government's cuts to welfare and social care. The protesters called on the Government to scrap plans to cut the Disability Living Allowance, to ensure that the Employment and Support Allowance, which is replacing Incapacity Benefit, has a fair and effective assessment process and to stop cuts to services which are essential to disabled people's quality of life, such as day care, transport and respite services.
You can read our report of the march here.
You can see photos from the march here.
11th May 2011 - Law Commission reports back on its review of adult social care law
The Law Commissions has been undertaking a review of all adult social care law and its report is recommending "the most far-reaching reform of adult social care law seen for over 60 years." The report calls for a single adult social care statute and code of practice which will clarify people's rights and entitlement to care.
You can read the full report or a summary here.
19th April 2011 - Is the Government making progress on rights for disabled people? Tell us what you think!
The Government will soon be reporting to the UN on the progress it has made on implementing the Convention on the Rights of Disabled People. We will be submitting a shadow report to the UN based on the experiences of people with a learning disability. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey and tell us your views.
You can find the survey here.
22nd March 2011 - petition to George Osborne
Over 1,600 people signed a petition to the Chancellor George Osborne which urged him to make sure that there is enough money in the budget to provide support services for people with learning disabilities. The picture emerging from our report social care - the continuing crisis shows that local councils do not have enough money to support everyone who needs social care services.
We handed in the petition to the Chancellor at 11 Downing Street on the day before the budget.
You can read the press release here.
16 March 2011 - Social care: the continuing crisis
Earlier this year, the Learning Disability Coalition carried out a survey of local authorities to find out about the current situation for people with learning disabilities. We have used the results of this, and of a survey of people with learning disabilities to produce our latest report Social care - the continuing crisis.
Our survey of local authorities has shown that 9 out of 10 councils have less money than last year, and that 20% are already making cuts to services. The results from our survey of people with a learning disability, their parents and carers are equally concerning. This showed that 1 out of 5 people had been told that their funding was going to be reduced, and a third of people who responded had been contacted by their council about an increase to eligibility criteria. We will be using the results of our report to continue to campaign for more public funding from the Government for support services for people with learning disabilities.
You can read the report here.
The easy-read version can be found here.
24 February 2011 - Death of a Nightingale
From 9th March to 3rd April, Alan Share's 'Death of a Nightingale' will be performed at the New End Theatre in London. The play tells the tale of fight to save a SEN school, and explores the conflicts, traumas, joy and stress that are daily events in the life of any school.
Click here for more details.
15 February 2011 - Personal Budget Questionnaire
ADASS is working together with In Control and Lancaster
University to find out how personal budgets and direct payments
are working across England.
The questionnaire is for anyone in England who has a personal
budget or a direct payment. There are versions for both personal
budget holders and family/infomal carers.
You can find the questionnaire here.
11 February 2011 - Petition to George Osborne
On 23rd March 2011, Chancellor George Osborne will announce the budget for 2011/12, and we want to make sure that he remembers the importance of social care support for people with a learning disability.
We have created a petition to the Chancellor which urges him to ensure that there is better public funding to meet the support needs of people with learning disabilities.
Please click here to sign the petition.
26 January 2011- Mencap's Housing Survey
Mencap is running a survey on the issue of housing. They would like to hear to about your experiences of trying to find a home and live independently. You can fill in the survey on your computer and email it to us, or send it by post to the address on the website. The survey can be found here.
21 January 2011 - New Self Advocacy Guide
The National Forum has produced a guide to help self advocacy groups to stay strong and plan for the future. It can be downloaded here.
10 January 2011 - Big cuts events!
Join the fight against the Government's plans to cut funding for vital public services!
Over the next 3 months one of our member organisations, Mencap, will be holding events across England on the Government's planned cuts and how to deal with them. The Big Cuts events will bring together people from across the learning disability community to discuss the cuts in their local area.
Professor Luke Clements, a leading community care lawyer, will give legal advice. Mencap's community development staff will explain planned local cuts and the effects they will have for people.
To find out more and to register please visit www.mencap.org.uk/bigcutsevent
4 January 2011 - Survey of the funding of care for people with a learning disability
The Learning Disability Coalition is running a survey of people with a learning disability, their parents and carers to find out about how funding for social care is changing.
Please click here to take the survey.
All responses are confidential.
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