New findings from a study exploring whether people with an intellectual disability are becoming less eligible for services in the age of austerity show that “Over 40% of people with learning disabilities lost care and support over the past decade as a result of cuts to social care funding.”

Professor Rachel Forrester-Jones and colleagues at the University of Kent, Tizard Centre, analysed the impact of austerity on the lives of people with learning disabilities. The NIHR funded study “highlights ‘significant challenges’ in terms of cuts to services and support which arose for those with learning disabilities since 2008.”

By “mapping the experiences of cuts to services introduced in 2008 for 150 people with learning disabilities the research team found:

• 42% reported they had lost care.
• 14% reported that their care had changed – but not reduced.
• 36% reported their care had stayed the same.
• 7% said their care had improved.

Most significantly, they found that those who had lost care were engaging in significantly fewer activities. These individuals scored lower on the Quality of Life index, which measures individual wellbeing, and had significantly lower self-esteem. Three quarters (74.8%) of the sample also scored highly for having ‘clinically significant’ anxiety.

Overall those who had lost care reported a reduction in daily activities – experienced particularly when day centres closed. They also reported an increased likelihood of feeling lonely or bored as well as a general loss of aspirations for their future.”

To access the full report please click here