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Adults with Learning Disabilities

I will certainly draw attention to the point that my hon. Friend raised. He will know far better than me how his private Member's Bill will get on, and the procedures that may or may not be used to ensure its successful conclusion. In line with the Joint Committee's recommendations, the whole of the "Valuing People Now" strategy was written entirely from a human rights perspective, and I was interested to note that my hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman), although welcoming that approach, thoughtfully teased out a number of complexities that arise when we take a human rights approach. That is exactly the sort of thinking and debate that we must continually address. We must start with a human rights-based approach, and I hope that that is agreed throughout the House. The "Valuing People Now" remit was broad. We want to ensure that we deliver change everywhere for everyone, and in response to the progress that the original "Valuing People" report made, the "Valuing People Now" strategy focuses particularly on people with complex needs, people with autism, and people from black and ethnic minority groups. I had a meeting with Victoria Willson and her mum, Jean, and the Learning Disability Coalition only yesterday, and I was profoundly struck by the fact that someone with such complex needs was living an independent life, and had been doing so for the past 20 years. People may say that that cannot be done, but clearly it can and is being done. There may be debate about resources, but the fact that it can be done tells us that such examples should be not the exception, but the norm. The scope of "Valuing People Now" is ambitious, because we want to transform the way that people with learning disabilities view the world, and the way that the world views them. That central vision, leadership and commitment is in line with the Joint Committee's recommendations. As has been said repeatedly this afternoon, I know that it wanted strong words to be translated into hard action. That is exactly what is happening, and our efforts are yielding real results on the ground. People with learning disabilities now have more choice and more control over their lives. For example, 2,000 people now receive direct payments, which they can use to pay for the care or services that they want. Many are now progressing from direct payments to individual budgets. During a visit to Chelmsford, I saw how those budgets are transforming people's lives. I met a young man with learning disabilities whose life was completely different. He was working, had a girlfriend, and was living an independent life. It was not only his life that had been transformed; the life of his family had been transformed because of what he was able to do with his independence. All that is part of a much wider drive to grapple with the issue of how to give people with learning disabilities more freedom and independence. It is right that more people with learning disabilities are living in their own homes, and enjoying a richer and more varied social life. I am particularly pleased that improved advocacy, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon referred, and better information and advice mean that more people with learning disabilities can shape their own future, and are being treated as equal citizens in our society. My hon. Friend also referred to funding. Average spend on advocacy services has leapt by more than 40 per cent. since 2004. I dare say that he would like to see more, but I want to put on the record how much difference that has made to the lives of adults with learning disabilities. The hon. Member for Eddisbury spoke about support for people with learning disabilities who want to make complaints about how they are treated. The Department will be developing materials to help such people and their families to understand their rights of redress and how to complain, because that is an essential part of what advocacy can do.