Thousands rally to call for sufficient funding
An estimated 3,000 people joined a rally in Westminster led by care providers, demanding government action on the critically underfunded sector.
Grassroots campaign Providers Unite is “a coalition uniting community care and support providers across the UK to advocate for our sector survival”.
Banner-carrying protesters at the event in February shared why “social care matters” and nearly 5,000 people signed a petition urging chancellor Rachel Reeves to review care funding.
The organisations involved collectively support more than 1.2 million individuals, employ a workforce of 1.59 million and deliver services valued at £68.1 billion.
Providers Unite argues that £8.4 billion is needed to meet future demand, improve access and cover full costs.
Learning disability charities Brandon Trust, Certitude, Choice Support, MacIntyre and United Response said social care was “a cornerstone of our communities”
Film shows progress since the Holocaust
A short film from Blue Apple Theatre is raising awareness of the plight of disabled people during the Holocaust, writes George Julian.
Released for January’s Holocaust Memorial Day, the film contrasts harrowing images of concentration camps with modern depictions of people with learning disabilities, showing the progress made. The Nazis sent almost 250,000 disabled people to their deaths.
Blue Apple is artist in residence at the University of Winchester and the three-minute film was created with support from film production students Hope Lines and Vasili Evangelou.
Richard Conlon, Blue Apple artistic director, said: “We live in much more enlightened times but we shouldn’t assume that will always be the case and we must remain vigilant.”
LDE’s Good Lives gets a refresh
Learning Disability England relaunched and refreshed its Good Lives project at its annual conference in Manchester.
Around 500 self-advocates, family carers, supporters, organisational leaders, researchers and policy experts attended the event in March.
Good Lives sets out what is needed for all with learning disabilities to live a good life.
Proud and tired: young climber wins photo prize
A young photographer has won an international competition with her self-portrait (featured at the top of this page).
Lottie Lambert, from Rochdale, won the judges’ choice award in the Down’s Syndrome Association’s My Perspective photography competition.
Open to people who have Down syndrome from across the world, the competition aims to give then the chance to show how they see the world.
Lottie’s shot, Proud and Tired, took the prize in the child category.
She said she is inspired by bright colours and nature.
“This is me when I walked up a mountain called Helm Crag. It was lovely and nice because it was sunny and I was with my family,” she said.
“I have called my photo Proud and Tired because I was very proud of getting to near the top.
“It was very hard for me but I did it even though I was very tired at the end.”
The 2025 competition is now open to entries. The categories include: action; emotions; portrait; street; and light and shadow.
News briefs
Training brewing in the pub
The Count Me In Collective has won council approval to run its project from The Castle Tap pub in Reading. The microbrewery will train adults in brewing.
Autistic comic readers
The University of Cambridge University is exploring how autistic people read, create and enjoy comics, with the goal of making the industry more inclusive. The Collaboration for Comics and Autism is a response to how fan conventions, comic stores and online spaces can be unwelcoming environments for this group.
Deaths too early
University of Glasgow research on premature mortality, led by the Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory, has found learning disabled adults aged over 25 years are dying an average 15 years younger than those in the rest of the population.
Cost-effective advocacy
A charity fund that helped 1,600 people get independent advocacy support has saved around £34.5 million in public funds over three years. Non-profit enterprise Social Finance calculated the cost benefits of the Henry Smith charity’s £2.6 million funding for 15 advocacy organisations.
Campus homes under threat
Guidance may undermine the survival of village or campus communities, according to Our Life Our Choice. The group is challenging 2020 guidance from the Care Quality Commission that notes the regulator will not register or favourably rate new campus or congregate settings.
All Update stories are by Saba Salman unless otherwise stated
