Five ‘Revolutionising’ care for people with learning difficulties? The Labour government’s Learning Disabilities Strategy
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Carol Walker
Abstract
In March 2001 the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, launched the first major strategy aimed at “radically improving the life chances of people with learning disabilities for 30 years” (DoH, 2001a, p 1). The White Paper, Valuing people: A new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century (DoH, 2001b), was launched following a consultation with a range of professionals, service users and family carers and drew on the work of a number of sub-committees which had produced recommendations for the government. At its launch the Secretary of State claimed that “A revolution in care is needed to increase opportunities for thousands of people, their carers and families.… Our ambition as a government is to create a society where there genuinely are opportunities for all” (DoH, 2001a, p 1).
The White Paper sets out a clear philosophy on which service provision for this group of service users and their family carers is based. This represents a consolidation of recent thinking in this field and is a marked advance on the last White Paper published 30 years ago (DHSS/Welsh Office, 1972), the main goal of which was the de-institutionalisation of people with learning difficulties from long-stay institutions. The new White Paper claims to put people with learning difficulties at the centre of future strategy and is based on the four key principles of civil rights, independence, choice and inclusion. It supports a lifelong approach to addressing people’s needs. It aims to impact on a large number of agencies, several of which have given scant regard to this group in the past: social services, health, education, housing, employment, the Benefits Agency and the independent and voluntary sector.
Abstract
In March 2001 the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, launched the first major strategy aimed at “radically improving the life chances of people with learning disabilities for 30 years” (DoH, 2001a, p 1). The White Paper, Valuing people: A new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century (DoH, 2001b), was launched following a consultation with a range of professionals, service users and family carers and drew on the work of a number of sub-committees which had produced recommendations for the government. At its launch the Secretary of State claimed that “A revolution in care is needed to increase opportunities for thousands of people, their carers and families.… Our ambition as a government is to create a society where there genuinely are opportunities for all” (DoH, 2001a, p 1).
The White Paper sets out a clear philosophy on which service provision for this group of service users and their family carers is based. This represents a consolidation of recent thinking in this field and is a marked advance on the last White Paper published 30 years ago (DHSS/Welsh Office, 1972), the main goal of which was the de-institutionalisation of people with learning difficulties from long-stay institutions. The new White Paper claims to put people with learning difficulties at the centre of future strategy and is based on the four key principles of civil rights, independence, choice and inclusion. It supports a lifelong approach to addressing people’s needs. It aims to impact on a large number of agencies, several of which have given scant regard to this group in the past: social services, health, education, housing, employment, the Benefits Agency and the independent and voluntary sector.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on contributors v
- The year in social policy 1
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UK developments
- Modernising primary healthcare in England: the role of Primary Care Groups and Trusts 15
- Devolution in England: coping with post-industrial industrial regions – issues of territorial inequality 37
- Reconstituting social policy: the case of Northern Ireland 57
- ‘Revolutionising’ care for people with learning difficulties? The Labour government’s Learning Disabilities Strategy 85
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International developments
- Globalisation and welfare: a meso-level analysis 107
- The ‘anti-globalisation’ movement and its implications for social policy 127
- Migration policy in Europe: contradictions and continuities 151
- The European Union’s social policy focus: from labour to welfare and constitutionalised rights? 171
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Conceptual developments
- The politics and economics of disciplining an inclusive and exclusive society 199
- Green social welfare: an investigation into political attitudes towards ecological critiques and prescriptions concerning the welfare state 225
- Using social capital in the policy context: challenging the orthodoxy 249
- Participation and social policy: transformation, liberation or regulation? 265
- Index 291
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on contributors v
- The year in social policy 1
-
UK developments
- Modernising primary healthcare in England: the role of Primary Care Groups and Trusts 15
- Devolution in England: coping with post-industrial industrial regions – issues of territorial inequality 37
- Reconstituting social policy: the case of Northern Ireland 57
- ‘Revolutionising’ care for people with learning difficulties? The Labour government’s Learning Disabilities Strategy 85
-
International developments
- Globalisation and welfare: a meso-level analysis 107
- The ‘anti-globalisation’ movement and its implications for social policy 127
- Migration policy in Europe: contradictions and continuities 151
- The European Union’s social policy focus: from labour to welfare and constitutionalised rights? 171
-
Conceptual developments
- The politics and economics of disciplining an inclusive and exclusive society 199
- Green social welfare: an investigation into political attitudes towards ecological critiques and prescriptions concerning the welfare state 225
- Using social capital in the policy context: challenging the orthodoxy 249
- Participation and social policy: transformation, liberation or regulation? 265
- Index 291
