Somerset council declares learning disability emergency

Mark Blaker said "not enough progress is being made in not enough areas" to support people likes his son

A council in Somerset has voted to declare a learning disability emergency.

It follows a 2021 report which shows a lack of improvements in outcomes for people with learning disabilities.

Councillor Mark Blaker, who brought the motion to Somerset West and Taunton Council, said it was "a big social issue that's being ignored".

The government said it was "working hard to remove barriers" for people with learning disabilities.

"When people are dying young, when people are not given the opportunities that everyone else is given, when people are living in poverty, when people are living with ill health, that is the definition, as far as I'm concerned, as an emergency, said Mr Blaker, whose adult son Joe has learning disabilities.

The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) report, which looks at the lives and deaths of people with learning disabilities and autism, found they were dying significantly younger than their non-disabled peers, with the Covid pandemic worsening the situation.

It also showed that more than 50% of people with learning disabilities were likely to be poverty stricken when they died and only 5% were in employment.

"People with learning disabilities are not given the basic opportunities, the basic advantages that we all take for granted in our lives," said Mr Blaker, an independent councillor for Wiveliscombe.

"We're a pretty stagnant nation in terms of our support for people with learning disabilities," said Mr Blaker (r)

He said him and his family were "able to afford" their son, who lives in the family home, "a fairly decent life".

"But you look ahead to the future and it's pretty uncertain time. We need a better world in which people can feel more secure."

Mr Blaker took the motion to his council on Tuesday.

"Just to ask the councillors to start taking notice of this, start taking it seriously and start realising that there is a big social issue out there that's being ignored."

In the meeting, the council agreed to adopt the Communication Bill of Rights, which ensures the basic rights of people with disabilities to communicate the conditions of their existence.

The council has pledged to install a fully functioning Changing Place Toilet in Taunton by the end of March 2023.

The facilities are designed to be completely accessible with the space and equipment for people who are not able to use the toilet independently, and offered in addition to accessible toilets.

Funding for the facilities comes from the £96,360 allocated to Somerset West and Taunton Council from the governments Levelling Up Fund.

'Informed care'

The council has also committed to sending bi-monthly updates on the project to members and for the council leader to write to other MPs noting the concerning data highlighted by the LeDeR Report and to raise awareness of the Communication Bill of Rights.

A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson said: "We are working hard to remove barriers to health care and support for people with learning disabilities and autism."

They explained the government had introduced a new requirement for health and care staff to receive specialist training "which will provide them with the skills and knowledge to provide safe, compassionate, and informed care".

"People over the age of 14 with a learning disability can receive an annual health check to maintain their health, identify undetected health conditions and ensure the appropriateness of ongoing treatments," they added.