The committee’s report sets out their concerns and recommendations where the UK is failing to uphold the
rights
Rights are the things everyone should be allowed to do like have a say, or go to school.
of disabled people.
Mencap response below.
Dan Scorer, head of policy at
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.
charity Mencap, said:
This report is damning in its findings that government policies have in many areas directly undermined the rights and wellbeing of disabled people and their families.
Cuts
Cuts are when there is less money to pay for things like clubs and support. to disability benefits and social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it. funding have hugely impacted on the lives of people with a learning disability and their families, pushing many further away from full participation in a society that already excludes them in most areas of life.
We urge 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. to heed this report and take urgent action to work with disabled people and their organisations to develop a new strategy
A strategy is a plan to show what an organisation, or a person, wants to do and how they are going to do it. to secure disabled people’s rights and inclusion across the UK.
-ENDS-
For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact the Mencap press office on 020 7696 5414 or media@mencap.org.uk or for out of hours 07770 656 659.
Notes to editors
About Mencap
There are 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.
For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area, contact Mencap Direct on 0808 808 1111 (9am-5pm, Monday-Friday) or email help@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.
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.
Learning disability is not a mental illness or a learning difficulty. Very often the term ‘learning difficulty’ is wrongly used interchangeably with ‘learning disability’.