Challenging Behaviour - National Strategy Group Reception, November 2024

On Wednesday 20th November, the Challenging Behaviour – National Strategy Group (CB-NSG) hosted a reception at Central Hall Westminster to raise awareness of the issues facing children, young people, and adults with learning disabilities and who are autistic. 

Earlier this month, the government introduced the Mental Health Bill, which will remove learning disabilities and autism as reasons that someone can be sectioned under section 3 of the Mental Health Act. One of the key issues raised in this reception, in addition to how welcome this reform is, was the need to ensure proper investment so that people with a learning disability and autistic people can access the right support to live in their local communities. 

There are multiple systemic failures to meet the needs of individuals with learning disabilities, autistic people, and their families, including: 

• Community support currently available to people with a learning disability and autistic people is not sufficient.  

• Access to early intervention for children and young people that can meet their needs is not available, leading to poorer outcomes later in life.   

• Accessing appropriate housing is too difficult – not enough is being developed and the system that people and their families need to navigate is too complicated and varies depending on where you live.  

• There is a lack of support for young people as they transition from children’s to adult services – and this process often begins far too late. Unless these issues are addressed, people with learning disabilities and autistic people will continue to experience harm.  

Working together – bringing all of the different parts of the system together with people with lived experience and their families as equals – is the solution to achieving this much-needed change. 

Viv Cooper OBE, CEO of the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, said: 

This event highlighted the range of experience, knowledge, and expertise available from a range of diverse stakeholders that could and should be utilised to drive the changes to the system that are needed. The new Government provides an opportunity to work differently, to co-produce solutions building on lessons learned from previous failures and approaches.  

This is an urgent priority – we heard at the event of families still experiencing a broken system, and the harm and trauma this causes. We look forward to working in partnership with the Government and officials from all parts of the system to create a system of support that delivers what it should – the right support in the right place at the right time.

Notes 

There are currently 2050 people with a learning disability and/or who are autistic detained in hospital inpatient units in England, including 215 children under 18 (NHS statistics published November 2024). 

This event drew on an action plan, co-produced by people with learning disabilities, family carers, and people and organisations working across the system. To learn more about this action plan, see here. To read the action plan, see here. For an Easy Read version of the action plan, see here. For further information about the action plan, please contact actionplan@thecbf.org.uk 

See here for a joint briefing on the Mental Health Bill, produced by a coalition of organisations who work alongside and support children and adults with a learning disability and/or who are autistic, their families, and the professions that support them. For an Easy Read version of this briefing, see here. 

See here for a joint briefing on developing community support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. For an Easy Read version of this briefing, see here. 

For further information about the Challenging Behaviour – National Strategy Group, and the issues raised in this reception, please contact nationalstrategygroup@thecbf.org.uk