Becoming less eligible? Intellectual disability services in the age of austerity

Introduction

Social Services departments have seen massive cuts to funding recently and faced frequent criticisms about variability of support. The Care Act 2014 has formulated a single national minimum eligibility threshold for care, but this may not solve the problem. There is concern that people with ID have or are at risk of becoming less eligible and therefore losing care.

This study aims to find out if people with ID have lost care by tracking changes in care for people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) at three time points (2006; 2011; 2016) across the period of growing austerity.

Using interviews, the research team will also explore the importance of ‘eligibility’ as a personal, social and practical construct. Our objective is to present evidence of eligibility changes over time, and to indicate what happens to those who lose care, in terms of quality of life and costs of care.

The sample will include 60 people with ID, who have had reductions in publically funded care, and a comparison group of 60 who have not lost care, plus their carers. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected; analysis will be by statistical and qualitative analysis.