Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of medical care available to people with learning disabilities.

Significant action is underway to improve access to and the quality of care for people with a learning disability. This will help deliver the shift from treatment to prevention, outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, with further information avaiable at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future

As part of this we are rolling out mandatory training for health and social care staff, improving identification on the general practice learning disability register and uptake of annual health checks, and implementing a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag in health and care records to ensure care is tailored appropriately. The NHS Learning Disability Improvement Standard also supports trusts by setting guidance on safe, personalised, and high-quality care provision. The standards  are designed to support organisations in assessing the quality of their services and to promote uniformity across the National Health Service in the care and treatment provided to people with a learning disability.  Further information on the standards is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/learning-disabilities/about/resources/the-learning-disability-improvement-standards-for-nhs-trusts/

Each integrated care board must also have an executive lead for learning disability and autism and must demonstrate how they will reduce inequalities for people with a learning disability within their five year strategic plans under the Medium-Term Planning Framework. Further information is avaiable on the Medium-Term Planning Framework at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/