Here's something that will make uncomfortable reading for the government, yet will surprise few - if anyone - working in the learning disability sector: financial pressures on local authority budgets and an alarming shortage of suitable social housing stock are increasingly jeopardising the provision of support for adults with learning disabilities. This is the conclusion of independent healthcare intelligence provider Laing & Buisson in a report to be published later this month. Indeed, this fits with the results of the current poll on the LDTonline homepage. While it is only a very small sample - 26 people having voted at the time of writing - it nevertheless shows how care is being pared back across the country. In the poll, only one person said their local authority learning disability service provision had increased in recent months, while 20 people - almost 77% - said it had been cut. The remaining 19% said service provision had stayed the same. This is further confirmation that cutbacks are now biting hard among service users. It also highlights how, at best, services are expected to battle on with the same funding they've had for the last 12 months. Or at worst, such as in the case of People First Lambeth having their budgets cut altogether in favour of other services. Laing & Buisson's chief executive, William Laing, reinforced the sorry state of affairs when he issued a stark warning to the government about what the future may hold unless these issues are better recognised and addressed. "There is an increasing likelihood that many providers will go out of business. This would result in an even greater crisis and shortage in specialist services provision." However, there is one reason to maintain some optimism. The Commission on Funding of Care and Support, led by economist Andrew Dilnot, has been tasked with finding sustainable solutions to the challenges of funding the care of people with disabilities - and his findings could bring some hope to embattled service providers. Dilnot is due to report back in July. When he does, everyone involved in learning disability service provision - well, social care provision in its entirety - will be watching. It is no exaggeration to say that the future welfare of hundreds of thousands of people depend on the outcomes of his findings.