6.3 out of 10
Legal capacity cannot be removed, people with intellectual disabilities have the right to vote and to stand for elections. However, there are obstacles in place.
Some adults with intellectual disabilities live in larger institutions, some live in smaller institutions. Few live in psychiatric hospitals.
Most adults with intellectual disabilities live with their family, few live in their own place.
Most children with intellectual disabilities go to mainstream schools, some go to special schools. Few of them have no education at all.
Very few people with intellectual disabilities have a job on the open labour market and they risk to lose their disability benefits when they earn their own salary.
Most people with intellectual disabilities have access to general healthcare, there is easy-to-read information on healthcare available.
People with intellectual disabilities are well represented in the national cross-disability organisation. Learning Disability England receives government funding for their advocacy work.
England European average
According to Mencap, as many as 9 out of 10 people with learning disabilities have been a victim of hate crime and/or harassment in the UK.
Things are improving regarding the right to vote thanks to the work of campaigners like My Vote My Voice, but there are still barriers such as a lack of accessible information on how to vote.
| Mainstream education | 200,000 |
|---|---|
| Special education | 15,000 |
| No education | 1,000 |
| Larger institutions | 23,420 |
| Smaller institutions | 23,420 |
| Small care homes | * |
| Psychiatric hospitals | 1,990 |
These are the reported or estimated numbers of the country. In most cases, in reality, the numbers will be higher as the data is underreported or missing entirely.
5.4 out of 10
Legal capacity can be removed in some areas, with safeguarding measures in place. People with intellectual disabilities have the right to vote and to stand for elections. The government provide easy to read resources during national elections, charities and organisations run electoral engagement workshops and programmes to encourage voting and provide accessible information.
A small number of adults with intellectual disabilities live in institutions, some live in small care homes. Long-stay medical institutions have been phased out but some people are still in inpatient settings and psychiatric facilities. There is a government plan to close institutions, but large services are still growing. There is work to ensure transition from these settings into the community.
Most adults with intellectual disabilities live with their family, some live in their own place. There is some support for families, disability benefits go directly to the person with an intellectual disability. Difficult to arrange adequate accessible housing. There is a mechanism to assess quality of services, it is not always effective.
Some children with intellectual disabilities go to mainstream schools and some go to special schools. There is no national strategy towards inclusion education, but there are local and national strategies for SEND that are often hard for young people and families to get the support they want for education.
Few people with intellectual disabilities have a job on the open labour market. There are earning caps and employers have differing approaches to working with people with intellectual disabilities. Some organisations exist to train and employ people with intellectual disabilities. All formal work should meet minimum wage requirements. Some people are offered voluntary work placements.
Most people with intellectual disabilities have access to healthcare, few people have access to women’s health. There are barriers to health screening and more needs to be done around accessible campaigning. In theory, people with intellectual disabilities have freedom of choice regarding reproductive health but this does not always happen in practice. Forced sterilisation is very rarely practised and would involve legal intervention.
There is no single cross-disability group in England that has someone with an intellectual disability on a board, but people with intellectual disabilities do sit on boards and are trustees of other charities and organisations including Learning Disability England. There are many successful self-advocacy organisations for people with intellectual disabilities. Learning Disability England does not receive government funding for advocacy work.
England European average
Thousands of people with a learning disability are still locked in mental health hospitals across the UK due to a failure to invest in the right community support.
The health inequalities faced by people with learning disabilities are stark and preventable. Half of people from ethnic minority backgrounds die by the age of just 34, compared to 62 for white people with learning disabilities.
| Mainstream education | 200,000 |
|---|---|
| Special education | 15,000 |
| No education | 1,000 |
| Larger institutions | 6,000 |
| Smaller institutions | 30,000 |
| Small care homes | 60,000 |
| Psychiatric hospitals | 5,500 |
| Living with family | 100,000 |
| In foster care | * |
| Living in own home | 2,000 |
| Homeless | 15,000 |
These are the reported or estimated numbers of the country. In most cases, in reality, the numbers will be higher as the data is underreported or missing entirely.
5.6 out of 10
Legal capacity can be partially removed. People with intellectual disabilities have the right to vote and to stand for elections. There is support to make elections accessible. There are people with intellectual disabilities elected on a local level.
Some adults with intellectual disabilities live in large institutions, some live in smaller institutions and some live in small care homes. Very few live in psychiatric hospitals.
Many adults with intellectual disabilities live with their family, some live in their own place. Disability benefits go directly to the person with an intellectual disability. There is a mechanism to assess quality of services, but it is not user driven.
Most children with intellectual disabilities go to mainstream schools and some go to special schools. There is no national strategy towards inclusion education.
Some people with intellectual disabilities are employed on the open labour market. Some attend daycare and some stay at home. People risk losing their disability benefits when they earn their own salary.
Most people with intellectual disabilities have access to general healthcare and women’s health. Many have access to the dentist. People with intellectual disabilities have freedom of choice in reproductive health by law, but few report it happening in practice. Forced sterilisation is very rarely practised.
There is no cross-disability organisation that has someone with an intellectual disability on a board/ council. Learning Disability England does not receive government funding for advocacy work.
England European average
There is a [monitoring and evaluation] mechanism for registered services but it is not user driven. They include people in some aspects of quality checking but people and families say it is inadequate.
12 years on from the Winterbourne View scandal, there were still 2,035 people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism in secure hospitals at the end of January 2024. Targets to support people to leave hospital and live in the community are being continuously missed.
| Mainstream education | 200,000 |
|---|---|
| Special education | 15,000 |
| No education | 1,000 |
| Larger institutions | 6,000 |
| Smaller institutions | 30,000 |
| Small care homes | 60,000 |
| Psychiatric hospitals | 3,000 |
These are the reported or estimated numbers of the country. In most cases, in reality, the numbers will be higher as the data is underreported or missing entirely.