The Learning Disability Coalition was set up to encourage the government to make an extra investment in funding services for adults with a learning disability.
The Learning Disability Coalition has 16 member organisations including ARC.
The Learning Disability Coalition recently published a report Agreeing Together – a contract for the future, which sets out 15 changes that need to be made over the next ten years in order to make life better for people with learning disabilities. The agreements have been created from the ideas of many people with a learning disability. In the report nine leaders with a learning disability tell us why they are so important. There is nothing exceptional about the agreements. They are the everyday rights that everybody should expect. But for people with a learning disability these everyday rights are not always respected.
- Find out more about Agreeing Together
- Sign the Petition
- Visit the Learning Disability Coalition Website.
Learning Disability Coalition Background
At the launch in May 2007, Dame Jo Williams, the then chief executive of Mencap and co- Chair of the Learning Disability Coalition, said:
“The additional funding should be regarded as a down payment to meet the growing demand for services. It is estimated that there will be at least an 11 per cent increase in the number of people with a learning disability between 2001 and 2021. And those over 60 are likely to increase by 36 per cent. We must make sure that there are enough resources to support these people, giving them and their families the quality of life they deserve.”
The Learning Disability Coalition recommends that, by the next CSR, Government should carry out a thorough evaluation of demographic, economic, health and social trends and their impact on the resource requirements of people with learning disabilities.
Barbara McIntosh, co Director of the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities commented:
“The truth is that the Government just does not have sound data on which to estimate accurate public expenditure for services for adults with a learning disability. At least 80 per cent of people with a learning disability in the UK do not get services tailored to meet their needs. That figure will get worse as current cuts to services start to bite.”
Carol Boys of the Downs Syndrome Association said:
“We are experiencing a dramatic increase in the cries for help from people with Downs Syndrome, and their families. Lack of day time activities will lead to mental health problems and early dementia. In the long term this will put a far greater burden on the public purse.”