Council better than national averages in its work with people with learning disabilities

The council’s adult social care teams help care for 1,542 adults with learning disabilities in the county. It has delivered year on year rises in the number of such adults who live in their own home or with their family as well as the number in paid employment.

The key statistics are as follows:

· Percentage of adults with learning disabilities who live in their own home or with their family was 83 per cent in 2016/17 in Oxfordshire, a rise from 80.1 per cent in 2015/16 and better than the national average of 75.4 per cent.

· Percentage of adults with learning disabilities in paid employment was 8.6 per cent in Oxfordshire in 2016/17 – a rise from 7.7 per cent in 2015/16. The national average is 5.8 per cent.

The Big Plan

Councillor Lawrie Stratford, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care at Oxfordshire County Council said: “Two years ago the county council set out a new strategy for working with people with learning disabilities. It was called “The Big Plan” and the results can be seen in the statistics that show the improvements we’ve made and the way that we are ahead of the game compared to the rest of the country.

“We’re immensely proud of these results and we’ll now seek to build on them and make yet more strides in future years.”

Supportive

Pam Bebbington, a trustee at My Life My Choice, said: "Despite the financial pressure we know they are under, the council has continued to be supportive of our organisation, which shows their strong commitment to improving the lives of people with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire."