National Health Service: In-Patients with Learning Disabilities

Lord Crisp Excerpts

Monday 18th January 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Crisp (CB)]

My Lords, the new learning disability strategy, Building the Right Support, proposes that people with learning disabilities should get their mental health treatment from mainstream mental health services—which as noble Lords will know are already under considerable strain. Can the Minister let us know what assessment the Government have made of the likely impact that this will have on mental health services and how they envisage that the financial and other implications will be managed?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The noble Lord refers to the paper Building the Right Support, which I think he will be very supportive of. It is designed to treat and look after many more people with learning difficulties outside institutional settings—in their own homes or in special purpose, much smaller homes. Where necessary, they will of course need to receive mental health services. I am not aware that we have done a particular impact study on that, but I will investigate it and write to the noble Lord.