CC Live news: Service user should champion learning difficulties issues in Scottish Parliament

A service user should be appointed to represent the interests of people with learning difficulties in the Scottish Parliament, a campaigner told Community Care Live Scotland today.

Stephen McNulty, development officer at charity the Richmond Fellowship Scotland, said that Scotland should follow the example of the Department of Health, which created the post of national co-director for learning disabilities for a service user last year.

McNulty, who works for FOCUS, which employs service users to develop services in the Richmond Fellowship, also said more needed to be done to tackle barriers in the benefits system that hindered people from working.

Next week, the Richmond Fellowship is launching a campaign in the Scottish Parliament to address problems faced by people on incapacity benefits who want to work.

Currently, people recieving incapacity benefits can earn up to £20 a week for an unlimited period, but the charity argues that recent increases in the national minimum wage have reduced the hours that people can work.

More information on the campaign