Latest news
News archive: October - December 2008
15 December 2008 - Birmingham day centres expected to close in the face of budget crisis
Two day centres for young people with learning disabilities are expected to be shut down due to an overspend in Birmingham City Council's budget for learning disability, exacerbated by an increase in the numbers of people requiring services.
15 December 2008 - Coventry making £9 million cuts to care services
People with a learning disability are among the groups expected to be affected by new cuts to services. The Council are expected to increase the price of transport to day centres and hourly charges for home care, forcing people with a learning disability to pay more to meet their needs.
03 December 2008 - Coalition sets out its case as new research reveals that demand for services is set to soar.
We have submitted our response to the Government's consultation on the future of the adult social care system. Our paper, 'The Case for Real Change' outlines what needs to be done to ensure that people with learning disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
Read 'The Case for Real Change'
As part of our response, we have commissioned new research from the Centre for Disability Research which shows that the demand for learning disability services is increasing by between 3.2% and 5.5% per annum. This is much greater than the Government's estimates, which are just 1% per annum, and shows that better funding is urgently needed to meet the needs of the growing population of people with learning disabilities.Read the Centre for Disability Research's report
28 November 2008 - Wolverhampton care home to close amidst widespread cuts
Wovlverhampton Council is to make cuts across the board, including to at least one learning disability service.
24 November 2008 - More being born with Down's syndrome
New research shows that the number of babies born with Down's syndrome increased by 15% between 2000 and 2006 - meaning that there are now greater numbers of people with Down's syndrome being born than when pre-natal screening was introduced in the late 1980s.
Update - doubt cast on these figures: read more
19 November 2008 - Criminal justice system 'failing people with learning disabilities'
A new report from the Prison Reform Trust says that people with learning disabilities face systematic discrimination at all stages of the criminal justice system.
17 November 2008 - Birmingham dispute leaves people with learning disabilities out in the cold
Birmingham City Council is facing a £14 million deficit in its Learning Disability budget due to a year long dispute with the NHS, compounding problems caused by increasing demand for services in the area.
7 November 2008 - Disability organisations call for ratification of UN Convention
A group of disability organisations have a handed a 50,000 name petition to Downing Street calling on the Government to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
6 November 2008 - Carers angry over cut to holiday service
Carers in Bexley have hit out at Council plans to close a service for people with a learning disability in favour of private provision.
31 October 2008 - Individual budgets discussed in the Guardian
David Brindle examines the Government's plan for personalisation in the light of the recently published evaluation of Individual Budgets.
10 October 2008 - Community Care discusses forthcoming Green Paper
Community care magazine examines the policy implications of the forthcoming Green Paper on the future funding of social care, and looks at the options for creating a fairer system.
9 October 2008 - Birmingham City Council to make large scale funding cuts
Birmingham City Council has announced cuts to the amount of funding available to voluntary organisations, meaning groups such as Mencap, Age Concern and Carers Advice and Support Information stand to lose nearly £1 million in grants.
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