Working from home and the new normal
Blog by Gary Bourlet, Learning Disability England’s Membership and Engagement Lead
Latest News
2021 Local Elections – Voting resources
The local elections in England are taking place on the 6th May this year.
These elections will be a chance for you to decide who runs local services like schools, care for the elderly and disabled and libraries – in 143 councils.
The adult social care market in England – report from NAO and the need for reform
On 25 March the National Audit Office (NAO) published its report about the adult social care market in England.
The report says that in 2019-20, local authorities spent a net £16.5 billion on social care.
And that there needs to be reforms to tackle the growing challenges.
Read more “The adult social care market in England – report from NAO and the need for reform”
Care Act easements to be removed
The Care Act Easements in England are to be removed after a vote in parliament on the 25th March.
When they are removed local authorities won’t be able to operate under the Care Act Easements anymore.
‘Life during Covid – a different perspective’: Guest vlog by Simone Aspis
There has been a lot of research about the difficulties people have faced through the Covid pandemic.
Most of us have experienced loneliness and anxiety over the past year.
But there has been much less research and information about what life has been like for people with learning disabilities living in ATU’s and other institutions.
Read more “‘Life during Covid – a different perspective’: Guest vlog by Simone Aspis”
Coming out of lockdown
This week we have seen the first steps being taken by the government to start easing off the lockdown restrictions.
Read the government’s easy read coming out of lockdown here
Many restrictions are still in place but from 29 March we can now meet up with up to six other people outdoors.
Read more about what you can and cannot do here.
Read Mencap’s easy read version here
You can also watch a short video about the changes that NWTDT and Pathways Associates have made here.
The government has said people who are shielding can stop shielding from 1 April.
You can read more about that here
Inclusion London has some useful information for people who have been shielding here
Life for people with learning disabilities through the pandemic: what have the first wave findings told us?
Blog by Gary Bourlet, Membership and Engagement Lead and self advocate
The findings from the first set of interviews of the Coronavirus and People with Learning Disabilities research project was published today.
Reading it has reminded me that this week marks one year since the first lock down in March of 2020.
The research findings remind all of us that it has been a hard year for a lot of people with learning disabilities.
IMPACT Centre launch
A new Centre called the IMPACT (Improving Adult Care Together) Centre has been launched today.
The IMPACT Centre has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, and the Health Foundation.
Learning Disability England is part of the IMPACT Consortium, a group of stakeholders working with the University of Birmingham to help develop the Centre.
Coronavirus and people with learning disabilities research – Wave 1 findings
What is life really like for people with learning disabilities during the pandemic?
The Coronavirus and people with learning disabilities research study has just published its findings from the first wave of the research.
The first wave included 621 adults with learning disabilities who told the researchers about their lives during COVID-19.
Read more “Coronavirus and people with learning disabilities research – Wave 1 findings”
Launch of LeDeR policy: Learning from Lives and Deaths
NHS England and NHS Improvement has published a new LeDeR Policy this week.
NHS England have said the policy was co-produced with a wide range of partners including self-advocacy groups, who worked together on challenging questions about the future of the LeDeR programme.
Read the easy read version here
Read more “Launch of LeDeR policy: Learning from Lives and Deaths”