Today, the House of Lords Public Services Committee published its report, “A critical juncture for public services: lessons from COVID-19."
Mencap provided written evidence to the Committee and responds to the findings in the report.
Edel Harris, Chief Executive of the 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:
“We are not surprised that the House of Lords Public Services Committee found that disabled people are one of the groups of people hit the hardest during the pandemic. Many people with a learning disability have seen cuts
Cuts are when there is less money to pay for things like clubs and support. to their social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it. support, and are finding it even more difficult than usual, to access healthcare. Shockingly, people with a learning disability are 3-4 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than the general population, as revealed today by Public Health England.
“Carers have been going above and beyond in this crisis, risking their lives and creatively providing support to keep people safe and well. But they are stretched way beyond their capacity. In addition, many learning disability services have been left firefighting rather than being able to meet people’s needs before they reach crisis point.
“The social care sector was on its knees before coronavirus - but now with increasing needs, care staff burnout and the soaring costs of delivering care during COVID-19, the sector is more fragile than ever before. The Committee’s recommendation that public services must receive financial support this winter must be acted upon. We urge the Government
The Government are the people who run the country. The Government decide how much tax
Tax is the money that pays for things like schools, hospitals and the police. There are different types of taxes like income tax
Income tax is the money that is taken out of the money you earn every month. It helps to pay for things we all need like hospitals and schools. , VAT
VAT is also called Value Added Tax. VAT is the extra money you pay when you buy things. The money goes to the government to pay for things like schools and hospitals. and council tax
Council
A council is also called a local authority
A local authority is also called a council. 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. . 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. Tax is the money that people pay to the council
The NHS is the National Health Service. The NHS gives free healthcare to everyone in the UK and includes things like your GP (doctors) surgery and hospitals. ) should work. to provide emergency funding for social care in its forthcoming spending review.”
Read the full report by the House of Lords Public Services Committee online here: https://committees.
parliament
Parliament is a group of people who make laws and check what the government is doing.
.uk/committee/430/public-services-committee/news/123559/lessons-from-covid19-major-report-on-public-services-launched/
- Ends –
For further information or to arrange interviews, contact Mencap’s media team on:
- media@mencap.org.uk
- 020 7696 5414 (including out of hours).
Notes to editors
1. Mencap is calling for:
- a clear plan for supporting the whole care market, including services for work-aged disabled adults which currently make up over half of the total social care
budget
A budget is a plan where you look at how much money you have and how you will spend it.
- additional funding to meet current demand for support and stabilise the sector
- a road map towards the Government's plans for social care reform, including a long-term funding solution, fairer access to services and support and workforce reform
- Social care reform and long-term funding must cover a range of services and support that people with a learning disability need beyond personal care to enable them to lead independent and fulfilling lives in their
community
A community is the people and places in an area.
.
2. The social care sector needed 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. While the Association of Directors of Adults Social Services’ latest Budget Survey revealed that there is a growing hole in local authorities budgets for services supporting people with a learning disability – up to £200m in 2020/21 from £180m in 2019/20.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to local councils in England facing at least a £6.6bn increase in social care costs up to the end of September, according to the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adults Social Services.
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. 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 (10-3pm, 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
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.