Price of care: charging for services for people with learning disabilities

Abstract

The recent increases in social services charges have impacted on the lives of people with learning disabilities and their families. Charges have been set for services that were previously free to service users and the levels of other charges have also risen. This paper explores the reactions of people with learning disabilities to such charges and the arguments used to oppose them politically. It seeks to explain why charges have been levied by local authorities at this time and explores in particular the reactions of local authority staff who are required to carry out means testing financial assessments. The final section of this paper discusses issues for practitioners who may face questions from service users about practical responses to the new system. It locates the charging debate within a context of a move from medical to social models of disability.