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Learning difficulties campaigners have expressed their disappointment that the Valuing People support team will no longer be transferred to the Social Care Institute for Excellence.

The proposed transfer of the team, along with six other government programmes, was scuppered last week amid disagreements between Scie and the Department of Health over independence and influence.

Head of policy at social care charity Turning Point Richard Kramer said: "The transfer would have enhanced the work of Valuing People as Scie is at arm's length from the DoH and more effective in tracking expenditure and making sure it reaches front-line services."


He called on the DoH, which is now widely expected to retain responsibility for the Valuing People support team, to ensure greater clarity on how money was spent.

Kramer said: "Currently less than 1 per cent of the £4bn spent on learning difficulties services relates to Valuing People. This needs to be monitored properly."

Andrew Lee, director of service user group People First, said that the transfer of the Valuing People support team to Scie could have led to more effective change at grassroots level, but if Valuing People remained too close to the government its impact on the ground could be weakened.

"Valuing People is only just becoming known on a grassroots level, and Scie's independent position may have helped that further," he added.

Charities also raised concerns that the work of the Valuing People support team could be "diluted" by the proposed merger with the six other government programmes, including the Change Agent team and the National Institute for Mental Health in England (Nimhe).


Learning difficulties charity Mencap wants clarity on the impact of the move on the Valuing People support team, and warns it could be "dwarfed" by Nimhe.

Lee said that he suspected that the reasons for the merger was most likely a "cost-saving" exercise and he called on the government to ensure proper investment in Valuing People.

But director of Valuing People Rob Greig insisted that the partnership should strengthen Valuing People "by giving greater opportunity for cross-agency support for people with learning difficulties".