Edel Harris OBE, 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:
“Despite promises to fix social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it. , despite years of underfunding, and an increasing crisis in the workforce, it is bitterly disappointing not to see any additional funding going into the sector. People with a learning disability, their families and those working in social care are already paying the price of a system ravaged by the pandemic - and things look set to get worse with inflation on a steep rise.
"People have told us that their loved ones with a learning disability are stuck at home because of the absence of support. Over 70% of those we surveyed said they spend less time outside the house compared to before the pandemic and half of those say reduced social care support is part of the issue. Services are still closed, staff are spread too thin, and ultimately people's lifelines to the outside world are being cut off.
“We welcome the work over the past six months to begin to reform social care, but this could be put at jeopardy by not adequately funding the system now. We need to see an urgent cash injection for social care and longer-term funding targeted at supporting decent pay rises for social care workers – many of who are paid far too little and will be hit hardest by the ever increasing cost of living.
“I know that the Chancellor has had tough decisions to make in this Spring Budget
A budget is a plan where you look at how much money you have and how you will spend it. and things are extremely tight for everyone. But please don’t turn your back on people with a learning disability and their families, and the social care workers who do such amazing work to support people.”
-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
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organisation
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.
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 020 7696 5414 (including out of hours).
Notes to editors:
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.
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.