Edel Harris, Chief Executive of the learning disability charity Mencap, said:
“Today’s welcome report from the Public Accounts Committee is yet further evidence of the reality that many people with a learning disability have lived with for too long - social care needs fixing now.
“During COVID, people with a learning disability have had their care cut when they needed it most, died at shockingly higher rates than the wider population, and the care sector has been pushed to breaking point. It’s time the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister is the leader of the government. finally matched his words with action to level up the social care system – now and so it is fit for the future.
“A further survey released today, from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, reveals the immense pressure on councils as society opens up after lockdown and more and more disabled people and older people require some form of care or support - just as local authorities A local authority is another name for your local council. It is a group of people whose job is to look after the area where you live. Local authorities means more than one local authority. are facing huge financial Financial means anything that is to do with money. It is used to describe how people, businesses, or governments get money and how they use it pressures. It is critical that 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. brings forward at least £3.2bn in immediate funding to help the sector deal with the fallout from the pandemic and ensure people get the support they need.
“We also desperately need the Government to commit to ambitious and long-term social care reform – which includes taking into account the needs of working-age people with lifelong conditions or disabilities – to create a world class social care system we can all be proud of.”
-ENDS-
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Notes to editors:
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 [email protected].
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.