A perennial problem for those representing the learning disabled and their carers has been access to accurate statistics or even up-to-date estimates of the numbers of persons affected by learning disability (a problem itself stemming from difficulties in ‘categorisation’, and from the absence of statutory requirements to record data).
The following recent exchange in the Commons (28th Nov. 2014) was typical … “We do not hold information centrally on people with learning disabilities in residential care disaggregated by gender and type of disability” BUT minister Norman Lamb did refer to one interesting set of available data. See link below to the spreadsheet on people with learning disabilities disaggregated by age group and local authority that were in residential care in each of the last 10 years… which reveals that as at 2013/14 there were 34345 adults in receipt of local authority funded residential care.
Andrew Griffiths (Burton, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England with learning disabilities of each (a) gender, (b) age group, (c) local authority and (d) type of disability were in residential care in each of the last 10 years.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many residential care home places for people with learning difficulties there have been in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years.
Norman Lamb (The Minister of State, Department of Health; North Norfolk, Liberal Democrat)
We do not hold information centrally on people with learning disabilities in residential care disaggregated by gender and type of disability.
Information on people with learning disabilities disaggregated by age group and local authority that were in residential care in each of the last 10 years is attached.
We do not hold information centrally on how many residential care home places for people with learning difficulties there have been in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years.
Learning disabilities and residential care 2004-14 (Excel SpreadSheet, 49.41 KB)