Council finances forcing pld clients into residential care Mental health charity Mencap has said it is concerned that councils are increasingly sendin

Almost one in four people with learning disabilities are living in care homes despite 70% of this population wishing to live independently, according to mental health charity Mencap. Mencap is warning that, due to a shortage of affordable housing opportunities, local authorities are moving away from supporting people to live independently in their own communities. Using data gathered from Freedom of Information requests submitted to all local authorities in England and Wales combined with a survey of nearly 500 parent/carers of people with a learning disability, the charity has concluded that, in the past year, the growing trend among councils is to only support people with a learning disability to live independently if the cost to support them is less than moving them into a care home.