Introducing Mencap's Vision Statement

For many people that have a learning disability , and people with other conditions that mean they rely on some kind of financial support, navigating the system which gives this kind of help is extremely complex and inaccessible. That is whether applying for or even being awarded the benefit. In our new Social Security Vision Statement, which has been co-produced by people with lived experience as part of Mencap’s Voices Council supported by Mencap staff who have provided insights as part of their roles, we have set out what we believe should be the approach to supporting people in a fair way with welfare and what needs to be in place for the right employment conditions. 'Benefits’ are often thought of as a perk or an extra, with people receiving money for free.  We made an early decision to use social security because it makes us think of being part of society and our rights as individuals.

As anyone following news headlines over the last few months will know, our conversations have been shaped by the current government’s welfare reforms. Since we began this project at the end of last year, we knew that the subject itself was very broad and the specific welfare types that people with a learning disability might get e.g. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit. We had to make sure when looking at social security, we had to focus on practical ways that support could be improved. 

If we are to create a safer and supportive work for anyone with a learning disability, this includes having a work culture which accepts reasonable adjustments as standard, communicating in plain English (verbal or written) with potential employees and preventing any possible biases where false assumptions about someone’s ability influences decisions. 

It makes sense that if someone has not yet previously been employed before, there will need to be dedicated support from places like the Job Centre to allow people with learning disabilities to become ‘work ready’. This might be how to dress, getting to work on time and how you talk/behave with other colleagues. In our meetings, we talked about whether Job Centres across the country and LD and autism champions in their locations, which is not consistent across the service . This is something which could easily be fixed. 

Turning to social security, one of the biggest flaws is with communication. We know assessors are beginning to be trained on learning disability, but we know that they can do more to understand the needs of people with a learning disability. This is especially important when many of the services and information is only available online, like the Universal Credit journal, which excludes a large number of people who have little or no access to technology. These are concerns which we need to understand more about what the DWP is doing to support people in using technology and to become more confident. We had several other considerations, like whether PIP should be linked to National Insurance contributions, which will give more financial security to those who claim this when not in employment. Crucially, we need to change how the system is talked about and how it is understood by the wider public. With the welfare system undergoing enormous changes and uncertainty as to how the government will resolve it, this Vision Statement helps to set our vision as the Voices Council on what can be done.