Through The Maze

6 March 2012

Ed Balls and Susan Hanley

Ed Balls, Hilary Benn, George Mudie and Fabian Hamilton showed their support for people with a learning disability and the End the Care Crisis lobby in meetings with some of their constituents on 2 March, organised with the support of Mencap and Tenfold in Leeds.

About 1,000 people were expected to meet their MPs in Parliament today and the Leeds meetings were organised to make it easier for 14 people with a learning disability to take part locally. Some of the constituents are meeting Alec Shelbrooke MP (Elmet and Rothwelll) this Friday, and they hope to meet the other Leeds MPs in the near future.

The End the Care Crisis lobby is led by the Care and Support Alliance, of which Mencap is a member, in a cross-party effort to urge the government to secure the future of social care, particularly for disabled and older people, in its forthcoming White Paper.

‘Many of us need social care at some time in our lives,’ said Susan Hanley, one of the campaigners who is from Morley. ‘We are asking our MPs to help make the future better for us all.’

Ed Balls, Hilary Benn, George Mudie and Fabian Hamilton all attended meetings with constituents on Friday and were united in their support for the campaigners. Susan’s MP, Ed Balls said: ‘“With pressure on budgets, some of the most vulnerable people in our society are paying a high price; facing deep cuts to services and in the financial support they receive. Susan is a great campaigner and already does some great work to represent the needs of other people with learning disabilities. It was great to meet her and her colleagues to hear first-hand about the impact of cuts to social care budgets on them and their families.”

Hilary Benn, MP for Leeds Central, said: ‘TenFold and Mencap have done a great job in helping two of my constituents, Paul Williams and Alan Hicks, ensure that their voices are heard.  As they told me, the right kind of support makes all the difference to their lives, and that’s why it is so important to protect it. I wish the campaign every success.’  

Ends

For more information, please contact

Maggie Graham, Mencap regional campaigns officer on 0771 770 2112 or

Kath Lindley, Tenfold manager on 07576 952527

Notes to editors:

• About the End the Care Crisis Lobby

The Care and Support Alliance was set up in July 2009. It is a consortium of over 50 organisations that represent and support older and disabled people, including disabled children, those with long-term conditions and their families, and campaigns to keep adult care funding and reform on the political agenda. End the Care Crisis is their campaign to urge the Government to create a better social care system for all. http://carelobby2012.org.uk/  

• About Tenfold

Tenfold was established in 1991 as Leeds Voluntary Sector Learning Disabilities Forum and is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. We use the working name Tenfold. Tenfold is a membership organisation. Our members are voluntary, community and faith sector organisations who work with and for people who have learning disabilities in Leeds. Our aim is to work with and support our members to bring about positive change in the lives of learning disabled people. www.tenfold.org.uk

• About Mencap

There are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability and their families and carers by fighting to change laws and improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want. We are also one of the largest providers of services, information and advice for people with a learning disability across England, Northern Ireland and Wales. People with a learning disability and their carers can find out more about our services by calling Mencap Direct on 0300 333 111 or by visiting www.mencap.org.uk

•   What is a learning disability?
A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities – for example household tasks, socialising or managing money – which affects someone for their whole life. People with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complex information and interact with other people.