Learning Disability Today
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New statistics from the Scottish Government have revealed for the first time the deprivation profile of adults with learning disabilities known to local authorities north of the border.
The 2013 Learning Disability Statistics Scotland release shows that adults with learning disabilities are significantly overrepresented in the most deprived areas of Scotland, and underrepresented in the least deprived, when compared with the distribution of the general Scottish population.
The 2013 Statistics also show adults with learning disabilities living in Scotland’s least deprived areas are more likely to live with family carers than those who live in the most deprived areas.
The Learning Disability Statistics Scotland dataset (previously known as eSAY) is published by the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability (SCLD). The Statistics Release 2013 provides information on the lives adults with learning disabilities lead and how these are changing over time.
Claire Stuart, SCLD’s Learning Disability Statistics Project Manager, said: “For the first time the 2013 data collection allows us to undertake deprivation mapping of the areas where adults with learning disabilities known to local authorities live in Scotland.
When considered alongside the other information collected, the inclusion of deprivation data allows for a breadth and depth of analysis which has not previously been available.”
The release includes information on employment, further education, how people spend their days, housing and who people live with. This year, for the first time, the data was analysed against the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, which ranks small geographical areas of Scotland based on a number of measures of deprivation.
The data provided in the statistics release is underpinned by a robust methodology and is working towards National Statistics designation, meaning that data users can have confidence in the information.The figures are used to inform national policy as well as in decisions about service provision.
To read the full 2013 statistics release and easy read report visit: www.scld.org.uk/ldss-2013
