What is the LeDeR report?
The LeDeR programme has written a report about the deaths of adults with a learning disability that have happened every year.
The latest report was published in July 2026.
It looked at the deaths of 3,395 people with a learning disability who died in 2024.
It also included information about the dealths of adults who died in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Anyone can tell LeDeR about the death of someone who had a learning disability over the age of 18 to include in the report.
The 2026 report says that adults with a learning disability die on average 19 years younger than adults without a learning disability.
Mencap’s Death by indifference report in 2007 highlighted how people with a learning disability were dying avoidably. Along with other organisations Organisations are groups like companies and businesses. , we campaigned for LeDeR to be set up.
The Government The Government are the people who run the country. They decide how much tax people should pay for things and how things like the National Health Service should work. have said that this will be the last annual LeDeR report.
They have said that LeDeR reviews will keep happening, but there will be a new way of sharing the data and information about what happened to people.
We think it is really important that we can see what the LeDeR reviews have found out about the lives and deaths of people with a learning disability so we can know how to make things better.
We want the Government to commit to building an NHS that knows if someone has a learning disability, knows what adjustments they need for their care, and how to act on them.
What is LeDeR?
Learn more about the LeDeR programme, what LeDeR does, and the annual report An annual report is a booklet which an organisation writes every year. It tells you what they did that year. with our easy read Easy Read is a way of making written information easier to understand. Pictures are usually added next to the writing. guide and video.
What does this year’s LeDeR report say?
The 2024 LeDeR report was published in July 2026. Figures show that adults with a learning disability are dying on average nearly 20 years younger than the general population.
In 2024, the average age at death for adults with a learning disability was 63 years.
Research Research is a way of finding out information which could come from books, or asking people what they think. shows people with a learning disability from an ethnic minority background are more likely to die younger and has suggested they are more likely to die avoidably.
39% of deaths were avoidable for adults with a learning disability.
The rate of avoidable deaths for adults with a learning disability is still nearly double the rate for the general population (21%).
End healthcare inequalities - campaign with us
We want all people with a learning disability to have access to the same quality of physical and mental healthcare as anybody else.
The government must make sure that the NHS can recognise if someone has a learning disability, understand what adjustments they need to receive the best care, and how to confidently act on them.
Become a campaigner with us and make a stand with people with a learning disability for equal healthcare.
NHS - Do you include me?
"If the government really wants to improve the NHS in England over the next 10 years, then it has to be better for everyone, including people with learning disability."
- Vijay, Mencap campaigns officer
LeDeR 2024: An accessible video report
An
accessible
Accessible means something is easy for people to use or join in with. For example: Accessible writing means the writing is easy to read and understand.
video about the 2024 LeDeR report published in 2026, has been produced by the Staying Alive and Well Group. The video contains key information from the full report, plus thoughts and discussion from group members.
Ismail Kaji
By Mencap