People with learning difficulties from BME backgrounds lack support - 8/26/2005

Over three-quarters of people with learning difficulties from black and minority ethnic communities in Britain are struggling without support, campaigners warn, following the publication of a critical new report, <b><i>reports Maria Ahmed</i></b>.

Friday 26 August 2005 10:40

Special Report

Over three-quarters of people with learning difficulties from black and minority ethnic communities in Britain are struggling without support, campaigners warn, following the publication of a critical new report, reports Maria Ahmed.

The report by the Valuing People support team, submitted to care services minister Liam Byrne, finds that under a quarter of people


Report has been submitted to Liam Byrne

from BME communities are known to services.

It highlights “uneven” progress in implementing the Framework for Action, guidance drawn up last year to ensure that Valuing People objectives were being met for people with learning difficulties from BME communities in learning disability partnership boards.

"Not taken seriously"

In the report, partnership boards cite “obstacles” to improving services including a lack of resources, poor information on numbers and lack of staff time, but campaigners have slammed the lack of progress.

Rob Grieg, director of the Valuing People support team says the report shows that guidance on reaching BME communities is “still being not taken seriously” in many parts of the country.

“What this report is saying is that people from BME communities are not getting a fair deal, but there are no acceptable reasons for partnership boards to neglect this area of Valuing People. There needs to be a concerted attempt to make clear local plans and strategies, which would not require extra resources.”

Cover up

Grieg is also concerned that only just over half of all partnership boards sent responses for the report.

“This is a disappointing response rate given that it was a carefully targeted survey conducted at the request of a government minister.”

Richard West, chair of the national advisory group on learning disability and ethnicity, calls for partnership boards which are not improving services for people from BME communities to be “named and shamed”.

“The lack of services is not just because of a lack of resources or staff time. I think this is just an excuse for what I would call a cover-up for institutional racism. I want this to be stamped
out.”

Struggling to cope


Grieg: Disappointing response

The report finds that only 22 per cent of learning disability partnership boards report using the Learning Disability Development Fund for initiatives relating to race equality, despite government encouragement to use it for this purpose.

It also finds that white people are over-represented in services, while people from South Asian communities are the most under-represented.

Ghazala Mir, senior research fellow at the centre for research in primary care at University of Leeds, warns that the number of South Asian people who do not access services could be “even higher” than current estimates.

“Research has suggested that the prevalence of learning difficulties in South Asians aged five to 32 could be up to three times higher than in other communities, which would mean there may be many more people out there who are not known to services,” she says.

Mir, who was on the steering group for preparing the Framework for Action last year, claims that people who are not known to services are struggling to cope alone.

Lack of leadership

She cites “inappropriate” methods of engaging those from BME communities as a factor why so many do not access services.

“The workforce makeup is not representative enough, and while South Asian communities place high value on religious needs, these are ignored by service providers,” she says.

Many services focus too heavily on addressing individual needs without attempting to recognise the interdependent, collective culture of family life in South Asian communities, according to Mir.

“Advocacy services which rely on self-referral can also end up excluding people who would be more effectively engaged through outreach work.”

The report also finds that only 10 per cent of partnership boards report that all their strategies routinely consider people from BME communities, while only nine per cent have dedicated workers to maintain contacts with BME communities.

No examples of good practice relating to children from BME communities were provided by the partnership boards which gave responses for the report.

The report warns that improving services for people from BME communities is “not a high priority” for many partnership boards, resulting in a lack of “strategic” leadership and action.

The report says: “Poor information, small numbers of people from minority ethnic communities in the local area and a lack of engagement with local minority ethnic communities seemed to be given as reasons for not pursuing strategic action, rather than as factors stimulating such action.”

Mir urged partnership boards to take full responsibility for the needs of people with learning difficulties from BME communities.

“Partnership boards must apply the same rules to everyone and ensure there is a fair allocation of resources.”

Improving services for people with learning disabilities, compiled by Chris Hatton, professor of psychology for Health Research at Lancaster University from: http://www.valuingpeople.gov.uk/EthnicitySurvey