Improve advocacy for people with learning difficulties, says government

More money and support is needed for advocacy for people with learning difficulties, according to the government’s annual report on learning disability published this week.

The report said that while the money spent by councils on advocacy more than doubled between 2001 and 2004, some councils still spent “very little.”

It also found that many people with learning difficulties are still being sent to live a long way from home, and set out a list of key challenges including:

• Ensuring that people are treated equally by the NHS
  
• Getting more people into work
  
• Giving people more choice about where they live
  
• Closing the majority of long-stay hospitals by 1 April next year

In response to the report, Lord Victor Adebowale, chief executive of charity Turning Point, said there needed to be a “step change” in the way people with learning difficulties were supported.

“The report shows that many people have benefited from the work the government has implemented, but we are concerned about how certain groups are still failing to receive the appropriate services and support they need,” he said.

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