An early day motion sponsored by the
Learning Disability
Coalition criticising cuts in services has received widespread
support from MPs.
As of 11 March, 164 MPs had signed up to the
motion proposed in December last year by Labour MP Tom Clarke.
The signatories so far include 92 Labour, 46 Liberal Democrat and
15 Conservative MPs.
The motion was prompted by
the Tell it like it is report
published in July 2008 by the LDC, a group of 12 campaign
organisations and charities including Mencap, the Downs Syndrome
Association and Sense.
Alarm over service cuts
It calls for the House of Commons to express alarm over the
report’s findings that 34% of people with a learning disability
surveyed have had their daytime services cut and that an increasing
number are being “squeezed out of the social care system” as
councils restrict eligibility criteria.
In addition, the motion raises concerns over an increasing
demand on services and calls on the government to take action in
the forthcoming
adult social care green paper.
Strength of opinion
LDC director Heather Honour said that the motion’s success
demonstrated the strength of opinion in Parliament over service
cuts. She added: “We’re delighted with the response, at the minute
we are ranked 10th out of 1124 motions.
“In the run up to the publication of the green paper on funding
adult social care, it’s very important that the government are
aware that MPs are concerned about cuts. There’s not enough funding
in the system to honour government policies.
“Demand for services is also growing by 3 and 5% per annum, which
is considerably higher than the 1% used for government
projections.”
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