Edel Harris, Chief Executive of the learning disability charity Mencap, said: 

“The social care crisis has gone from bad to worse – as a society we cannot let it deteriorate even more. People with a learning disability and their families have struggled for far too long.  Many people are not getting good enough support, while others are having their support cut or are missing out altogether – all issues that can also impact on people’s physical and mental health. 

“People with a learning disability deserve better, and care workers deserve a pay rise.  Every day, people are leaving the profession to become delivery drivers and supermarket workers because they don't get paid enough for the skilled work they do – and this is putting the people who rely on care at risk.   The Government needs to invest more money to create a social care system that meets the needs of the people who need care and those who provide it – a system fit for the 21st century.”

The report from the Care Quality Commission can be found here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/major-report/state-care

-ENDS-     

For further information or to arrange an interview with a Mencap spokesperson or case study, please contact Mencap’s media team on: media@mencap.org.uk or 020 7696 5414 (including out of hours).         

Notes to editors:   

About Mencap     

There are approximately 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability, their families and carers by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want: www.mencap.org.uk        

For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area, contact Mencap’s Freephone Learning Disability Helpline on 0808 808 1111 (10am-3pm, Monday-Friday) or email helpline@mencap.org.uk.         

What is a learning disability?    

  • A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability which can cause problems with everyday tasks – for example shopping and cooking, or travelling to new places – which affects someone for their whole life;    
  • Learning disability is NOT a mental illness or a learning difficulty, such as dyslexia. Very often the term ‘learning difficulty’ is wrongly used interchangeably with ‘learning disability’;     
  • People with a learning disability can take longer to learn new things and may need support to develop new skills, understand difficult information and engage with other people. The level of support someone needs is different with every individual. For example, someone with a severe learning disability might need much more support with daily tasks than someone with a mild learning disability.