Page 23 - Community Living Magazine 35-1

editor’s diary

A solution to the labour shortage “diversified investment holding company”
This will be acquired for £4m by a
becoming their 26th group company as
part of their “vertical” (whatever that might
A huge pool of wasted talent is eager to take up work while be). And so it ploughs on, in deathless,
care companies see commodities, says Simon Jarrett, who has corporate prose, for several paragraphs.
If you have the perseverance and the
high praise for a refugee’s story told without words will to read through to the end, you will
find out that it is from a care company
that provides services to people with
he news is full of dire warnings Swindon, a council-run social enterprise learning disabilities, among others.
about labour shortages in many that produces timber products, is It’s a good job this was eventually
Tareas of the economy. planning to make 12 people redundant. mentioned because otherwise, for all I
The shortages, we are told, will affect Some of them have worked there for 20 knew, I was reading about a company that
supply chains, the availability of goods, years. There is considerable disquiet, makes widgets. This is how people become
entertainment and hospitality and other which has reached the local press, over commodities and lose their humanity.
areas of our lives where we have often both the redundancy consultation and
assumed, complacently, that there will the support promised but apparently not Refugees without words
always be a magical supply of people to provided to the staff at risk. We have all watched the disturbing and
make sure our lives run smoothly. The underlying problem in situations distressing scenes at Kabul Airport as
What never figures in this debate is that like this – and Swindon is by no means many thousands of people have tried to
there are more than a million people alone – is that work is seen as way down flee the new Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.
labelled as having learning disabilities in the priority list for people with learning In this darkness, a tiny glimmer of light
the UK among whom the employment disabilities. The social care system generally is the brilliant response by Books Beyond
rate – not the unemployment rate – is 6%. shows little interest beyond meeting basic Words who have produced the compelling
Surveys consistently show that most of needs to enable people to stay alive. A Refugee’s Story, which you can
them are eager and willing to work, and Of course, much of this arises download from https://
are more than capable of doing so. from pressures on social care booksbeyond
So we have critical labour shortages, budgets that allow only basic words.co.uk/
and we have a large group of willing care needs to be met – but it also afghanistan.
workers who are only prevented from springs from a mindset that This not only
working by social attitudes that designate people with learning disabilities helps an often
them incapable of doing so. What a waste do not belong in the workplace. voiceless community
to tell their story, but
of talent and potential. Inhuman, deathless prose also will enable others
Books Beyond Words Not seen as a normal goal I receive a press release that recommended. n
to understand the
stories of refugees
tells me a company has “agreed
Meanwhile, in the midst of labour
shortages for which we need trained
who they meet. Highly
terms to go public and become
part of an expanding plc”.
people ready to work, Enterprise Works in
Both the interviews and observations British Journal of Learning Disabilities, his study explores the experiences
demonstrated that the six adults showed 49(1):23-33.  https://doi.org/10.1111/ of 10 parents with a son or daughter
agency and were communicating their bld.12351 Taged 18–25 years with a learning
preferences through the relationships disability. The themes are: transition; the
they had with people within their his report examines the perspectives good, the bad and the unknown; striving
immediate environment. of fathers with learning disabilities for independence; and supporting the
The study concludes that, if people with Tin England about this role and the supporters.
severe or profound disabilities are to have support they have received. It looks at The study concludes that increased
some agency and involvement in life descriptions of fatherhood, problems collaboration and consistency from
transitions, their communication through and support. statutory services is required in addition
existing relationships and interdependencies to emotional support and support
must be incorporated into decision-making. Experiences of parents of young adults networks for parents. n
This involves rethinking participation Codd J, Hewitt O (2021) Having a son or
from a relational and interdependent daughter with an intellectual disability This summary of research is produced in
perspective, including close collaborative transition to adulthood: a parental partnership with the British Journal of
practice between those who know a perspective. British Journal of Learning Learning Disabilities, published by John
person well. Disabilities. 49(1):39-51.  https://doi. Wiley https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
org/10.1111/bld.12327 journal/ 14683156
Fathers with learning disabilities
Symonds J, Annott D, Dugdale D (2021)
“Someone will come in and say I’m doing
it wrong.” The perspectives of fathers
with learning disabilities in England.

www.cl-initiatives.co.uk Community Living Vol 35 No 1 | Autumn 2021 23