government policy

On Tuesday 11^th May, the Queen addressed the Lord’s chamber in Westminster, where she set out the government’s plan to take the UK forward after the Covid-19 pandemic.  

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought a myriad of changes that impact people with learning disabilities and/or autism. From restrictions about exercising outside to changes in social care, here's a round up of some of the changes...

Lockdown on the spectrum: how autistic adults and families of children with the condition are coping with the coronavirus lockdown that has closed schools, slashed respite and limited access to the outdoors to one trip a day. Darren Devine highlights the experiences of one Scottish family facing struggles common to many during the lockdown.

Paid and unpaid carer sickness, stringent self-isolation measures, and increased personal caring commitments make for a depleting social care workforce. Here's what the Care Act easements under the Coronavirus Act 2020 means...

Today Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) condemns the “horrific reality” of conditions and treatment under which many young people with learning disabilities and autism are detained in mental health hospitals, “inflicting terrible suffering on those detained and causing anguish to their distraught families”.

NHS chief Simon Stevens has announced that a new taskforce will be set up to improve current specialist children and young people’s inpatient mental health, autism and learning disability services in England. News of the new taskforce is not the only initiative announced this past week to improve the experience of autistic children/teenagers in inpatient settings. 

Police figures obtained by the charity United Response show that fewer people are being charged or prosecuted for disability hate crimes despite ongoing increases in reports across England and Wales.

Until a group of parents joined forces to change the law families could find themselves sidelined once a loved one with a learning disability turned eighteen, with social workers taking charge of key decisions. But here Darren Devine details how three families have fought to ensure parents continue to have a voice when their children become adults.

71% of autistic adults in England aren't getting the support they need. This could mean up to 327,000 autistic adults aren’t getting help to do things other people take for granted, like socialising, managing money, or getting out and about.

Chancellor Sajid Javid's Spending Review promised to inject £1 billion into social care. Billy Davis, Hft’s Public Affairs and Policy Manager, tells LDT why the sector needs to "save itself". 

Chancellor Sajid Javid's Spending Review promises to inject £1 billion into social care.

For the first time, the government has pledged to work with the Office for National Statistics to include autistic spectrum conditions on the Labour Force Survey.

Cross-sector concerns have repeatedly been raised about the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill since proposals were introduced last summer. The Bill, which campaigners fear will dilute existing human rights safeguards and give undue power and responsibility to organisations supporting older and disabled people.

Darren Devine discusses the widespread nature of the use of restraint and seclusion in schools for learning disabled children, and speaks to those campaigning to change this. 

The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG) which represents charities providing services for disabled people has issued the warning ahead of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill reaching the House of Commons committee stage on 22 January.