The charity asked 1,069 people across the UK about their experiences of caring for someone with a learning disability during the crisis. [2]

Over two thirds (67%) said their loved one’s needs have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic [3] while four in five (79%) have had no choice but to increase the amount of care and support they offer. [4]

Mencap - the UK’s leading learning disability charity - warns that cuts to day services , personal care in the home and respite for carers have had a devastating impact on people with a learning disability and their families, leaving them still in lockdown despite the easing of official restrictions. 

Devastating impact of lockdown on people with a learning disability

The survey reveals that a lack of social care support during this crisis has negatively impacted people with a learning disability in a number of ways, including their mental health (69%), relationships (73%), physical health (54%) and independence (67%), according to family carers. [5]

One family carer said the family hadn’t left the house since March, while another who is shielding said that their loved one can only be supported to go out for a daily walk at night.

Mencap has heard from families whose loved ones with a learning disability were previously independent and confident but, since their support has been taken away, have ‘lost their life skills’. 

“He was at residential college supported by an active programme of learning and life skills. This has stopped since mid-March. He has regressed, he has become subdued and is ripping his clothes and being destructive.”
- Mother, 57, to 22-year-old son with a learning disability

“We have worked so hard for a number of years to support my daughter to join in group activities. Due to COVID-19, she has been confused and [is] completely shutting down [and] refusing to communicate.”
- Mother, 50, to 15 year-old-daughter with a learning disability

Family carers pushed to the brink

Caring for someone around the clock while day services are closed and respite hours are cut has taken a shocking toll on the wellbeing of family carers.

Over half (52%) of family carers said that they have struggled to cope with supporting their loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic. [6]

Three quarters say the situation has been detrimental to their own mental health (75%), relationships (60%) and their physical health (61%). [7]

“I am here alone giving 24-hour care to someone who cannot be left. Behavioural issues have been terrible. I had to choose to keep him safe rather than going for a wee, I had to wee on the floor. He was safe though.”
- Mother, 54, to 25-year-old son with a learning disability

“I am caring for a very challenging and strong individual for more than 100 hours per week and have had very little sleep. I am worn out and exhausted, my son is fully grown with the strength of ten men. It has left me feeling depressed and forgotten.”
- Mother, 53, to 26-year-old son with complex needs

Many families fear that cash-strapped local councils will have no choice but to make further cuts as lockdown eases. Almost three quarters (72%) of family carers surveyed are worried that there would be more cuts to care packages to come [8], with some reporting that their loved ones’ day support services have already been forced to close for good during lockdown. 

“She is reassessed every year. I am terrified they will say that I managed without support and withdraw services in the future.”
- Foster parent, 61, to 36-year-old with complex needs

Figures from a series of Freedom of Information Requests to Local Authorities in England, released today, demonstrate the extent of financial pressures in social care for people with a learning disability even before coronavirus hit. They show at least 2,459 working-age adults with a learning disability had the support hours in their care package reduced in 2018/19. But the charity estimates that, factoring in all Local Authorities, this could have been over 7,000 people - equating to around one in 20 people with a learning disability who receive social care. [9]

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

"I am really shaken by the results of this survey. We knew it was bad, but no one could hear these stories without feeling ashamed to be part of a society that allows this to go on.  

“Social care has had decades of under-investment, and we have been warning about the system being at breaking point for years – but here are clear signs that the system has broken and people with a learning disability and their families are paying the price. Mencap will not stand by and allow this to happen. 

“Social care needs significant investment now and a bold plan for reform in the future. People with a learning disability and their families must not be left behind in lockdown.”

An £8 billion investment in social care in England is needed to restore adequate levels of quality and access to what it was a decade ago according to the Lords Economic Affairs Committee report. [10] And yet local councils in England face at least a £6.6bn increase in social care costs due to coronavirus according to the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adults Social Services. [11]

Mencap is launching a petition calling on the Treasury to invest in social care. It is also calling for major reform to futureproof the sector and ensure that the individual needs of people with a learning disability are met: www.mencap.org.uk/socialcarepetition.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

About the data

[1] Figures refer to family members who said their loved one usually receives social care support. We asked ‘How does the amount of social care support your loved one receives from the local authority now compare to the amount their received before the COVID-19 pandemic?’ (n=564)

  • 65.3% of family members and carers said the amount of social care support their loved one receives from the local authority has decreased a lot (meaning they receive half or less than half the hours they received before the COVID-19 pandemic)
  • 3.9% said their hours have decreased a little (they receive less than before, but more than half the hours they used to)

[2] Mencap ran an online survey with 1069 family member and carers of people with a learning disability in the UK. The survey ran for 2 weeks from 29th June to 13th July 2020. Some figures may not total due to rounding.

[3] We asked, ‘How do your loved one's support needs now compare to their support needs before the COVI9-19 pandemic?’ (n=1064)

  • Over two thirds (67.4%) of family members and carers said their loved one’s support needs had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. (35.9% said they had increased a lot, whilst 31.5% said they had increased a little)

[4] We asked, ‘How does the amount of care and support you are providing to your loved one now compare to the level you provided before the COVID-19 pandemic?’ (n=1065)

  • Almost 4 in 5 (79.1%) of family members and carers said the amount of care and support they are providing to their loved one with a learning disability has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. (60.9% said it has increased a lot, whilst 18.1% said it has increased a little)

[5]  Figures refer to family members who said their loved one usually receives social care support. We asked: ‘Think about any changes there have been to the hours or types of social care support your loved one receives during the COVID-19 pandemic. What impact has this had on the following areas of your loved one’s life?’ (n=559)

Negative impact
Physical health 54.4%
Mental health 69.2%
Behaviour that challenges 57.1%
Social life 88.8%
Independence 67.0%
Relationships 73.0%
Employment* 18.9%
Finances* 13.2%

* ‘Employment’ and ‘Finances’ data reported for adults (18+ years) only

[6]  We asked, ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “Overall during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have felt completely able to cope with supporting my loved one.”’ (n=803)

  • Over half (51.9%) of family members and carers do not agree that they have felt completely able to cope with supporting their loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic. (33.9% disagree and 18.1% strongly disagree)

[7]  Figures refer to family members who said their loved one usually receives social care support. We asked: ‘Think about any changes there have been to the hours or types of social care support your loved one receives during the COVID-19 pandemic. What impact has this had on the following areas of your own life?’ (n=547)

Negative impact
Physical health 61.4%
Mental health 75.3%
Social life 73.2%
Independence 63.0%
Relationships 60.3%
Employment 30.2%
Finances 31.1%

 

[8] We asked, ‘Thinking into the future, to what extent (if at all) are you worried about the longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the following areas of your loved one’s life?’ (n=805)

  • For ‘cuts to their social care support package’ – 46.8% said they are worried ‘a lot’ and 25.4% said they are worried ‘a fair amount’

[9] Mencap sent Freedom of Information requests to 150 higher tier Local Authorities providing social care between December 2019 and February 2020. 145 responses were received (a 97% response rate).  In 2018/19, at least 2,459 working-age adults with a learning disability had the support hours in their care package reduced. However, this figure is based on data from just 51 Local Authorities therefore the actual number could be around three times as high at over 7000 – this is around one in 20 of people with a learning disability receiving social care. Please note, this is a crude calculation based on ONS total population data at the Local Authority level and does not adjust for relative socio-economic status or other demographic or social factors.

[10] Lords Economic Affairs Committee (2019) Social care funding: time to end a national scandal. https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/economic-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2017/social-care-report-launch/

[11] ADASS (2020) Social care providers face more than £6bn in extra COVID-19 costs. https://www.adass.org.uk/social-care-providers-face-more-than-6bn-in-extra-covid-19-costs 

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 (8am-6pm, 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.