Supporting the vulnerable in West Berkshire through the Learning and Disabilities Partnership Board
There are around 3,000 people in West Berkshire with an IQ below 70. This means they are classified as having a learning disability.
But as Niki Hinman has been finding out, some of the most vulnerable people in the district face hate crime, bullying and abuse.
There is one place left to go for anyone with, or connected to an adult with a learning disability, to share their worries.
The Learning and Disabilities Partnership Board in West Berkshire is one of the few remaining in England.
“We work with the local authority to see how we can solve some of the issues faced by this community,” said Alex Osteritter, the board’s manager.
She says the general public need to be tuned in to some of the worrying issues faced by these people.
“There are times when there is hate crime,” she said.
“This is where someone is given a derogatory comment because of their disability.
“But also there is ‘mate’ crime. We don’t often get this reported, but we are concerned it goes unnoticed.
“It is when somebody may befriend someone who has a learning disability and take advantage of them. For example, going to the pub with them, and getting them to pay for all the drinks.”
She said it can be investigated, but the best way is to find out who their family is and speak to them to make them aware it is happening.
“Sometimes of course it can be their family who are doing this. We support that individual to see how they want to deal with the situation and also raise it with the safeguarding team at the council."
Alex is the sole officer on the board. She doesn’t work directly with those who attend, but facilitates getting the right people to hand to help.
“We work a lot on awareness,” she said. “It’s knowing what to say when someone says ‘I always buy the drinks’.
“It is so important to us that people are aware these things are going on, and that they can come to us and tell us.”
She said another concern was vulnerable people’s homes being used for parties.
Transport is also a big issue for people with learning disabilities.
“Most people don’t drive and getting from A to B in a rural county is difficult,” she added. “They can’t afford taxis either, so getting places in the evening and weekends is a real challenge.”
The LDPB is an independent outfit, but works to raise issues with West Berkshire Council which commissions it.
Darren
Darren is 32. He lives in Newbury and likes to cycle, drive and being out and about.
He is an advocate for people like him with learning disabilities and helps Alex out once a week at the offices in Newbury's Bartholomew Street.
“Sometimes people aren’t as nice as they could be and can be sarcastic," he said.
'"It’s not too bad now for me though. It was worse at school. But some people do worry when they go out.
“If they bump into people they might be worried that people will be nasty to them.”
Darren has a support network to make him feel confident so he doesn’t face situations when he is out and about in the community,
“Some people might worry but I say they shouldn’t worry and be yourself and talk to people and go out.
“I can always find someone here who can help me if something happens.”
Claude works for the YUME project which provides day activities for adults with learning disabilities, commissioned by West Berkshire Council.
The project started in spring of 2011 and was set up by ex-local authority staff, following cuts to learning disability services in the area.
“We are out in the community a lot,” he said. “We are often out in the minibus doing things.”
Claude is a regular contributor to the West Berkshire Learning Disabilities Partnership Board, which meets every couple of months.
“I think it has become increasingly important in recent years as funding has dried up in other areas. Parents and carer groups have dried up - so this is pretty much the last one left - so it is our only chance to get together and talk about things.
“One of the issues we are talking about at the moment is the whole move to contactless payments. This forum has allowed us to talk to other providers and parents so we can push forwards on this issue as a group.”
He said the pandemic pushed a lot of places to go contactless, but says people with learning disabilities aren’t quite ready for that.
“There are issues to do with safeguarding and holding bank cards,” he added.
His fear is that adults with learning disabilities are being ‘ghetto-ised’ - by being ‘boxed’ into the same zone as all other people with disabilities.
And he is also keen to raise awareness.
“We saw a spike of worrying behaviour and ill will towards our client group around the time of the Brexit vote,” he added.
“For example, we had complaints about us parking with our blue badges in disabled spaces. It felt like there was a resurgence of attitudes from 40 years ago, with people saying ‘they should all be put away’.
“It seemed that people felt OK about expressing some old fashioned attitudes.”
Claude echoes similar concerns around recruitment aired by West Berkshire Council’s Adult Social Care team.
“We just can’t compete with people getting paid more to be baristas or stack boxes for Amazon. Why would people do this work, which is stressful, and needs all these qualifications, when they can get paid more to do these things?”
“With the cost of living locally it’s not a liveable wage.”
John Head, from Kintbury is a parent carer for his 43 year old daughter Jocelyn, who has non verbal skills and needs specialist care.
“We enjoy having her at home,” he said. “But the worry for us is we are getting on. My wife and I are both 75 now. We would like to move on, and to find her somewhere more permanent.
“I don’t know how long Jocey will last in terms of life expectation. She has probably lived longer than most people would have thought. It’s because she is loved and well looked after.
“I meet other people who are in a similar situation. But we all have different circumstances. All our needs are not in the same category and that’s the problem now as everyone tends to be put in one box.”
Phoenix Centre
In 2011, the Phoenix Centre in Newbury changed from a place of specialism for learning disabilities into a ‘pan disability’ centre - which is now dominated by the elderly age group.
‘Why would a 20 year old with autism want to spend the day watching Darling Buds of May with a room full of 80 year olds with dementia’ said Claude.
Both John and Claude fear more cuts will see the end of the board. There used to be a professional learning disabilities team at the council, which has also been cut.
John says the ‘pan disability’ approach has seen the help for those with learning disabilities shrink away.
“West Berkshire doesn’t fund it as well as it used to do, but it’s more of a good will gesture that it exists at all,” he added. “It doesn’t have to. But this is the only place we can now raise issues.
“We used to have councillors come, but that doesn’t happen much now, or officers from West Berkshire Council. The police were also represented. MPs would turn up occasionally, but not anymore.
“It’s made life a struggle but we are grateful the council has carried on with the partnership board.”
Councils have not been legally obligated to fund LDPBs since 2009.
John also says the standard of day carers is poor.
“People just aren’t aware of people with learning disabilities,” he said. “The carers are nice people - but they find it difficult to interact with Jocelyn. They are not trained to deal with it.”
West Berkshire Council has a strategic pillar to its operation - to look after the most vulnerable in the district.
John scoffs at this.
“It’s easy to write a strategy, but in terms of the tactical implementation that’s a different matter because you need people who are trained and skilled,” he said. “You phone a social worker up, but unless they have had some experience of learning disability they really don’t know where you are coming from.
“People who are life time disabled are just the bottom of the heap.”
To get in touch with the LDPB the office number is 01635 760535.