Foreword

In this issue we feature some of the innovative work councils are doing to support people with learning disabilities in the region.

We also give you a quick guide to the government’s three year strategy – Valuing People Now – and its supporting strategy Valuing Employment Now, for helping people with learning disabilities to live normally alongside fellow citizens in the community.

At the heart of the strategies is the premise that people with learning disabilities have the right to live like others, with the same opportunities and responsibilities, and to be treated with the same dignity and respect.

Expectations are high, with the need for real change to be delivered in a relatively short time.

To achieve this we have to accept and understand that Valuing People Now is part the wider social care transformation agenda, as with personalisation where the government expects a substantial increase in the number of people commissioning their own services, including people with learning disabilities.

The JIP’s role is to support improvement of social care. We are planning with the Department of Health West Midlands a number of projects to help local authorities deliver Valuing People Now.

In the meantime, we invite you to share with us and colleagues across the region information and examples of good practice that we can all learn from.





Andrea Pope-Smith
Director, Adult Services & Health, Sandwell MBC
ADASS lead for Learning Disabilities
Co Chair of Valuing People Now Regional Project Board