Lib Dem demo urges social care rethink

Cathy Reay with the Lib Dems in Liverpool
 
A protest by people with learning disabilities was staged in Liverpool to urge the Liberal Democrat party to rethink cutting the budget in social care.

The protest, organised by the Learning Disability Coalition, was attended and organised by people with learning disabilities who believe that the coalition government will cut back services that have already been “stripped, cut and reformed to their basic shell”.

Jeffrey Harrop, who has learning disabilities, said: “I go to day centres, I do drama and I love it. Everyone knows me, it’s my only opportunity to socialise. Friendship is so important to me and without the groups I am a member of, without the social networks I am in, which in part are set up through government funding, I’d be very alone. It’s really important for me that these facilities are there, I need things to do during the day and I’m worried that these services will get shut down and that I will be isolated.”

Gemma  Coyle , a voluntary worker at Mencap, said that she fears a future of unemployment because employers will not be incentivised to give people with learning disabilities jobs. “Through my job at Mencap I’ve learnt so many things I would never be able to do otherwise. I really love having that independence and I enjoy the work. But I want to be able to have a job in the future, for employers to want to [pay me] for my work. I’m worried that there won’t be enough support for people with learning disabilities to get into work in the future. There’s something for everyone if you give [us] a chance.”

Anthea Cox, director of the Learning Disability Coalition said: “What people don’t seem to grasp, what we’re trying to tell government, is that social care is already in crisis. The coalition was set up three years ago to deal with the cuts in services and now there are going to be more. Many of the cuts are hidden, for example changes in eligibility of benefits or services which cuts lots of people off from being able to access the support they are used to receiving. Cuts presented as “reform”, like daycentres closing and alternatives being set up – what they don’t tell you is that these alternatives are a stripped back version of what was originally in place.

Cutting essential support is likely to cost more in the long-term with people finding themselves in crisis. If personal care starts to slip people will end up in hospital and that will cost the government much more. We’re currently trying to encourage putting 1% of the health budget into social care support, a system we believe would save the government money in the long-run as less people would require acute services.”