Ahead of
the Government
The Government are the people who run the country. The Government decide how much tax people should pay and how things like the National Health Service (NHS) should work.
’s Spring
Budget
A budget is a plan where you look at how much money you have and how you will spend it.
on Wednesday 23rd March, new figures from Mencap confirm fears that people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
are stuck in lockdown and carers are burnt out due to significant reductions in
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
support. Mencap is warning that people with a learning disability cannot be left behind and locked down - and the Government must commit to adequately fund social care in the Spring Budget.
The charity surveyed 580 family carers of people with a learning disability across the UK, with over 70% (71.5%) of family members saying their loved ones spend less time outside of the house compared to before the pandemic [1], and half of (50%) families saying reduced social care support is part of the issue [2]. Of these families, 42% reported their support had decreased ‘a lot’ since the COVID pandemic started [3].
However the lack of support given is not due to a reduction in need – in the vast majority of cases (88%), it was not because of a reassessment [4]. Instead, people with a learning disability are finding themselves without crucial help they’ve been told they’re entitled to, due to services being temporarily or permanently closed or reduced (64%) and a lack of staff (47%) [4]. Some families described the lack of social interaction as causing their loved ones to feel depressed, isolated and abandoned.
It is also having a dramatic impact on carers. Of the family members who said their loved ones are spending less time out of the house, almost seven in ten carers (69%) [5] reported feeling burnt out – with a quarter (25%) saying they always feel burnt out. Almost half (46%) reported feeling lonely and a third (33%) said they rarely or never feel happy [5].
Helen, whose daughter Amanda’s support was reduced significantly during COVID, said:
“The support has increased a bit in the last year but it’s nothing like the support she got before. This has left us shattered, we’re on our knees. It has definitely taken it out on us and taken years off our life. My husband and I have at least been able to support each other - we wouldn’t be able to cope on our own and I do worry about those who might not have family support.”
“It’s affected Amanda’s confidence, it’s gone. Her mobility is definitely affected. She also seems to have lost her social skills. I don’t know how we will get it back. If you lose skills we have spent 49 years building, it’s hard to put them back. That’s my worry. Her mental health has without a doubt been affected also.”
Another family carer said:
“Trying to get my son back to how he was before [is] a struggle with less support for him and I am tired as a carer. Not much support out there and if there is it’s taking months, years to access... [I’ve] lost a big part of my son, rebuilding is exhausting and it breaks my heart to see him like this.”
Edel Harris OBE, Chief Executive of the learning disability charity Mencap, said:
“These figures show a sector that was on its knees before COVID and which has now been ravaged by the pandemic – and people with a learning disability and their families are paying the price.
“I know that the Chancellor has some tough decisions to make in this Spring Budget and that, whilst a war is raging and cost of living is rising, things are extremely tight for everyone. But please don’t turn your back on people with a learning disability and their families, many of whom rely on some form of social care to live. We are all enjoying the fact that COVID restrictions have been lifted, but we must not forget that for some people life hasn’t returned to anything like normal - and they are still stuck at home and in desperate need of support.
“We all know how difficult it was during lockdown to be cut off from the people around us and, with so many services still shut and not enough staff to go around, this is still the reality for many people with a learning disability – with no sign of it changing soon. With the right support, people with a learning disability can live brilliant, fulfilled, independent and healthy lives, but without it, many struggle, leading to a deterioration of their physical and mental health.”
Even before the pandemic, an £8 billion investment in social care in England was needed just to take the system back to the same level of quality and access it was in 2009/10 [6] - and now more people than ever are missing out on the care they need.
The charity is calling for an urgent cash injection for social care in this Wednesday’s Spring Budget so people can get back the support they’ve lost. The Government must give local authorities the support they need to be able to invest in their local areas, fund care providers properly, and ultimately open up social care again.
The charity’s figures also highlight yet again the huge workforce shortages in the sector – and that these are part of the reason why people’s support is being reduced. With poor pay and little financial incentive to join the sector, Mencap is also urging longer-term funding targeted at supporting decent pay rises for social care workers.
-ENDS-
For further information or to arrange an
interview
An interview is a meeting where you talk to someone or a group of people about something. When you have an interview for a job, you have to answer questions and say why you would be good at the job. The person who gives the best answers is offered the job.
with a Mencap
spokesperson
A spokesperson is someone who speaks up about something. They usually speak up on behalf of a group or
organisation
An organisation are a group of people who work together.
.
or
case study
A case study is a piece of writing that tells people more information about someone's experience.
, please contact Mencap’s media team on: media@mencap.org.uk or 02076965414 (including out of hours).
About the data
Mencap ran a survey with 580 family members and carers of people with a learning disability in the UK. The survey ran for 3 weeks from 07/02/2022 to 28/02/2022 and was hosted on Alchemer. Some figures may not total due to rounding.
[1] We asked, ‘How much time does your loved one spend outside the house compared to before the pandemic?’ (n=568)
- Over 70% (71.5%) of participants said that their loved one spends ‘A lot less’ or ‘A little less’ time outside of the house compared to before the pandemic.
[2] We asked, ‘Which of the following (if any) have made it more difficult for your loved one to get out of the house since the pandemic started?’ (n=460)
- Almost half (49.8%) of participants reported that ‘Reduced social care support’ made it more difficult for their loved one to get out of the house since the pandemic started.
[3] For those participants who said a reduction in social care support had made it more difficult for their loved one to get out of the house, we asked, ‘How does the amount of social care support your loved one receives from the
local authority
A local authority is also called a
council
A council is also called a local authority. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live. These include: schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
. They are a group of people who make decisions about some of the things in the area where you live like schools, social care (support for people), parks and dustbin collection.
compare to the amount they received before the COVID-19 pandemic?’ (n=220)
- Over 42% (42.3%) of participants reported that the amount of social care support their loved one receives ‘Decreased a lot’ compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.
[4] For those participants who said a reduction in social care support had made it more difficult for their loved one to get out of the house, we asked, ‘What reason was given for a reduction in the social care support they receive?’ (n=136)
- Almost two-thirds (64.0%) of participants reported ‘Services have been temporarily/permanently closed or reduced’ as the reason given for a reduction in the social care support they receive
- 47.1% of participants said that there were ‘Not enough staff’
- Only 1 in 10 (11.8%) of participants answered ‘Reassessment by local authority’.
[5] We asked, ‘As a result of your loved one spending less time outside the house, to what extent have you felt the following?’
- 69.1% reported feeling burnt out ‘always’ or ‘very often’
- 24.8% said they always feel burnt out
- 45.5% reported feeling lonely ‘always’ or ‘very often’
- 33% said they ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ feel happy
Further figures
[6] 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/
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
Education is when you learn things. When you fill in a form to get a job, education means you write where you went to school, college or university.
,
employment
Employment means having a job.
and
leisure
Leisure is when you have time to do things you enjoy like playing sports or going to the pub.
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 means that people might need support 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
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty. People who have dyslexia can find it hard to read, write and spell.
. 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.