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Petition to end postcode lottery for adults with learning disabilities
20 March 2008
Projects supporting adults with learning disabilities have recently submitted a petition to the Scottish Government in order to end the postcode lottery that currently exists in the provision of befriending services across Scotland.
According to Mike Nicholson, Development Manager at Befriending Network Scotland, “Although most people with moderate and severe learning disabilities now live in the community, they are still socially excluded and have no social contacts outside their family or day centre, no experience of making friends and no transport. Despite this problem being identified in various reports produced during The Same as You (TSAY) Review of Services for People with Learning Disabilities in 2000, government funding is still not coming through for befriending. The stark reality is that just 25% of Scotland’s local authority areas fund befriending, in contrast to advocacy services, which now cover 84% of the country.”
Full details on the progress of the petition can be found on the Scottish Government’s website.
For more information on this article, contact Liz Watson on 0131 225 6156, or email admin@befriending.co.uk.
