Website of the Department of Health

Confidential Enquiry and Public Health Observatory tenders

Valuing People Now: a new three year strategy for people with learning disabilities (2009) included commitments to undertake a three year confidential inquiry (CI) into premature deaths among the population of people with learning disabilities, and develop a three year public health observatory (PHO) to analyse data and disseminate information in relation to people with learning disabilities.

The Department of Health has now initiated open tender competitions to procure the services to undertake the CI and the PHO function, with Expressions of Interest (EOI) documents published on the DH website in the week commencing 26 October 2009.

• Further information

Valuing people now: a new three-year strategy for people with learning disabilities

Published: 19 January 2009

DH has launched this cross-government strategy for the next three years, which takes account of the responses to the consultation which ended in March 2008.  In particular, this strategy:

• addresses what people have told us about the support people with learning disabilities and their families need
• reflects the changing priorities across Government which impact directly on people with learning disabilities
• sets out the Government’s response to the ten main recommendations in , Healthcare for All, the report of the independent inquiry into access to healthcare for people with learning disabilities, chaired by Sir Jonathan Michael
• provides a further response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights report A Life Like Any Other?
  

• Valuing people now: a new three-year strategy for people with learning disabilities
• Valuing people now: the delivery plan
• Valuing people now - DH news story
• Responses to the consultation on Valuing people now: from progress to transformation
• Letter from Anne Williams: Launch of valuing people now
• Valuing People Now resource pack

Supporting Learning Disability Partnership Boards to implement the National Carers Strategy

Published: 2 October 2009

This booklet offers guidance to Learning Disability Partnership Boards to help them ensure carers of people with learning disabilities, and carers with learning disabilities are: 

• supported in their own right, and
• involved in local service developments which affect their lives, and the lives of the people they care for.  

The booklet covers:

• key facts about family carers of people with learning disabilities
• what the National Carers Strategy is, and how it relates to the work of Learning Disability Partnership Boards
• the responsibilities of Partnership Boards to ensure the National Carers Strategy’s aims are fulfilled for carers of people with learning disabilities, and carers with a learning disability
• important questions for Partnership Boards to ask in reviewing, devising and implementing services for people with learning disabilities and their carers, to ensure that the needs of carers are taken into account
• links to resources to support Partnership Boards’ ongoing work with carers.

This was commissioned by the Family Carers programme of Valuing People Now, through their work with The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Care.  The booklet was written by Christine Towers and Hazel Morgan (Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities) and Dalia Magrill (Sharing Caring Project at Sheffield Mencap).

• Supporting Learning Disability Partnership Boards to implement the National Carers Strategy

Valuing People Now: Transfer of the responsibility for the commissioning of social care for adults with a learning disability from the NHS  to local government and transfer of the appropriate funding

In August 2008, a letter and annex was sent to all primary care trusts and local authorities setting out the existing policy and legal framework for the transfer of learning disability social care funding and commissioning from the NHS to local authorities with effect from 1 April 2009. The annex provides guidance on what is covered, what PCTs and LAs need to do and the timescale for the transfer. The proposed transfer was set out in Valuing People Now.

A further letter in November 2008 gave an update and specifically advised PCTs and local councils as to what the DH were looking for from the December 1st return.

• November 2008 letter
• August 2008 letter

LAC(DH)(2008)5: Learning disability - campus closure programme revenue grant: 2008-2011

This Local Authority Circular and Grant Determination sets out the revenue grant available for the three years from 2008/9 to 2010/11 to those local authorities who completed a campus census return on 10 April 2008.

• LAC(DH)(2008)5: Learning disability: campus closure programme revenue grant

Cm7378: Government response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights: a life like any other? human rights of adults with learning disabilities

The Joint Committee on Human Rights (the Committee) published its report 'A life like any other? human rights of adults with learning disabilities' on 6 March 2008. This memorandum sets out the Government response to the conclusions and recommendations in that report.

• Government response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights: A life like any other? Human rights of adults with learning disabilities

Learning disabilities White Paper

Published on 20 March 2001, Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century, set out an ambitious and challenging programme of action for improving services.

• Learning disabilities white paper

Learning disability taskforce

The learning disability taskforce was established to help address the issues faced by people with a learning disability.

• Learning disability taskforce

Learning Disability Development Fund

The Learning Disability Development Fund (LDDF) supports the implementation of the valuing people whitepaper.

• Learning Disability Development Fund

Publications and resources

Key resources and publications related to policies and guidance for learning disabilities.

• Learning disabilities publications
• Useful links