Yesterday saw the launch of the Liberal Democrat manifesto and I will try to cover the relevant points as I did with the Labour Party.
I have to say that there were not many references to learning disability so I’ll do the best I can with the limited resources offered. The full manifesto can be downloaded by entering Liberal Democrat Manifesto 2017 into your search engine
pg 16-22 “Saving the NHS and Social Care” The main points in this chapter are :
- 1p increase in income tax ringfenced to be spent only on NHS and social care which would eventually be replaced by a dedicated health and care tax.
- Reduce the inequality between physical and mental health
- End out of area placements
- Help people to live at home by using personal budgets to a much greater extent
- Raise the amount people can earn before losing Carers Allowance to £150 per week
- Introduce a carers passport scheme to inform carers of their NHS rights
pg 28 Education – the only reference to SEND appears on this page as follows:
“Ensure that identification and support for special educational needs and disabilities takes place as early as possible. All new policies should have an assessment of how they affect pupils who have special educational needs, and ensure they adhere to duties under the Equality Act.”
pg 59 “Treating People Fairly”
There was surprisingly little in this section other than a promise to reverse the cuts to ESA.
I have so far been very disappointed with the amount of reference to people with a learning disability in the manifestos that have been issued so far and I would ask that if you are canvassed by any of the parties then you might consider asking about what happens when young people with LD leave education, what are the plans for meaningful occupation or anything relevant to your family members situation. There are 1.4 million LD people in the UK, that is a very considerable number of voters.
There will undoubtedly be more tomorrow……