Making Connections - Making A Difference

Fife Under Threat

Fife is the latest council to threaten to remove Local Area Coordination from the people who benefit. In recently published council papers, previously kept secret for 2 months, Fife Council proposes to transfer the workers to new jobs and withdraw services from hundreds of people.

The LACs have been told they are not being redeployed but will move into the Children & Families Team to work with people through transition. To achieve this transfer LAC provision is being withdrawn from the individuals and families that currently work with the team.

This will have a significant impact on individuals and families which may result in increased demands on statutory services. It s difficult to see how this could deliver either cost savings or positive utcomes for people and families.

Self Directed Support

LDAS Comments on Scottish Government's Self Directed Support Strategy

VALUES AND PRINCIPLES QUESTION 1

The strategy sets out values and principles of self-directed support. Do you agree with the values and principles?

We welcome the publication of a Self Directed Support strategy for Scotland. This is a the latest step in bring change into social work services. We have had both guidance and legislation in the past which has helped set the scene and explore who the different forms of self directed support might be implemented and indeed, blocked.

A strategy is a long term plan that allows a campaign to develop over a period of time to bring sustained change. There are many attitudes entrenched in social work, drawing from wider social attitudes towards disabilities that need to be overcome before we can have self directed support.

It has been a long road for people with learning disabilities. Many of our members vividly remember battles for some of the most basic rights to have the vote or even to live in the community. Others have taken part in more recent campaigns to secure dignity and basic support in taking part in their communities.

Self Directed Support will not be end of that journey - not by a long way. However it is an important development that will help people with learning disabilities develop the skills and confidence that they need to help organise and control their own support services.

Tell your MP to stop ILF changes

LDAS is concerned over changes to the Independent Living Fund which will limit new applications to those in employment for more than 16 hours.

The Independent Living Fund has supported thousands of disabled people to live better lives in the community for over 20 years. Traditionally it has supplement local authority services to deepen and enrich the experience of the disabled people within the community. Now proposed changes will restrict this to a handful of working disabled people. We need to make sure MPs know the problems this will cause.

Lessons for Scotland from the Social Care White Paper

The Westminster government has launched a new white paper outlining their plans for the future of social care in England. This will create a National Care Service which for the first time will be responsible for establishing a standard system of social care whereever you live in England.

From 2014 extend the coverage of free care so that people will receive free care if they need to stay in residential care for more than two years. [There will be a number of options of what would be a fair way for everyone to pay into this new system will be explored by a special commission.]

It will also enshrine in law for the first time nationally consistent eligibility criteria for social care helping to remove the postcode lottery of care that exists now

And it will also Push forward with the prevention agenda and continue the drive towards personal budgets so that by 2012 everyone who would benefit from a personal budget will have one.

These are important steps forward. Even in a much smaller country like Scotland, we are aware that there are tremendous variations in eligibility to get services, what types of services you might get and then what you might pay for it. Let's hope the Scottish Government can follow suit and establish a truly Scottish Care Service.

Westminster Manifesto Launched

Today the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland launched its manifesto for the Westminster Parliamentary elections.

We have identified three issues that the succesful candidates can take forward to help make a difference for people with learning disabilities and their carers.

Making Employment Really Workl - many people with learning disabilities want to work and contribute towards society. Westminster can help them

An Enabling Benefits System - Benefits remain difficult to understand and don't always reflect the true costs of being disabled.

Equality For All - Equality legislation that covers everyone and that is really put into practice

Read our manifesto here

Read out Easy Read Manifesto here

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