Autism and Learning Disabilities: Hospital Detention

Debate between Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest and Baroness Merron

Tuesday 11th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Yes, because we are, as my noble friend knows, updating an Act that is over 40 years old, to keep pace with demands and changes, and to meet our expectations of providing care through a compassionate and appropriate service. There were particular circumstances in this case, which I do not seek to excuse, but it is not appropriate for me to go into them. It is important to look at specific cases.

[Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Con)]

My Lords, there are over 2,000 people with autism and learning disabilities locked up in these facilities at huge cost. Putting them into the community does not necessarily work because the infrastructure is not there. Will the Minister commit to funding the necessary care and housing for this cohort?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is quite right to raise the fact that at the end of January 2025 there were some 2,065 people with a learning disability, autism, or both, in mental health in-patient settings. The population I referred to is not a static one; there are new admissions every month. We know, for example, that in January 2024, some 10,000 discharges to the community had been undertaken since 2015. So it is not necessarily the same group of people. She will know that funding decisions are made at the appropriate point. Again, this is a matter of great importance to the Mental Health Bill, and we will continue to take that through the House to get it into the best place possible.

Care Homes: Safety Ratings

Debate between Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest and Baroness Merron

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I assure my noble friend that the department has discussions with the CQC at fortnightly meetings. Those discussions are about performance, including clearing the backlog of registration of new providers, and this will continue in order to make the necessary improvements that my noble friend seeks.

[Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that a lot of the problems in care homes would be alleviated if becoming a carer in a care home required certified training, supervision and a defined career path, rather than it being a job of last resort for itinerant job seekers, as it seems to be in many homes at the moment?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I certainly agree with the noble Baroness that the workforce is absolutely crucial, and I very much value the contribution that is made by those who work in care homes. Perhaps it would be helpful to say that, just last month, we announced that the care workforce pathway, a new national career structure for adult social care, will be expanding to support opportunities for career progression and development. This is the direction of travel that we want to take.

Young Disabled People: Social Care Services

Debate between Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest and Baroness Merron

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address demand for support from young, disabled people and their families, particularly in relation to provision of social care services, as they transition to adulthood.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government recognise the difficulties that young disabled people and their families can face when they transition into adult social care. This has been a neglected area, which is why the Department of Health and Social Care is now working across government to identify opportunities to better support young people and their families at this crucial stage in their lives. My ministerial colleague, the Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock, has recently met his counterpart at the Department for Education to discuss how the two departments can make progress on this issue.

[Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Con)]

My Lords, for many people with learning disabilities, transition into adulthood is purely chronological. Their needs and care requirements remain exactly the same. Parents have described this transition into post-18 services as like jumping off a cliff.

I was approached by the parents of Cameron, a young man with severe learning disabilities. Melanie, his mother, was a nurse for 30 years, and his father, David, was a Royal Marine commando who fought in three wars. Their professional life serving the community and their country has not prepared them for the battle they are facing with Somerset Council to get the right accommodation for their son. Melanie told me that the day he turned 18, all support fell away. Will the Minister accept that these are the same people, with the same condition and the same continuing needs, and that, as part of adult social care reform, there needs to be a separate category for people with learning disabilities, who are so neglected? In this spirit, would His Majesty’s Government consider a Minister for learning disabilities?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I understand and am sympathetic to the points that the noble Baroness makes about Cameron and his family. I listened very closely to the concerns that she raised. As I mentioned in my Answer, we are very aware and absolutely accept that the services are not in the places they need to be. That is why I made the commitment to work closely with the relevant department.

Looking to the future, as recently as November we published what I regard as a very ambitious and wide-ranging whole-system plan, called Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive. It seeks to break the cycle of crisis intervention and to rebalance the system back towards earlier help for families, which I hope would have been helpful in the situation the noble Baroness describes. All local authorities, including Somerset, have to set out the support available for those with special educational needs and disabilities as they move into adulthood.