Welcome to the fifth published Annual Report of the Brothers of Charity Services in the United Kingdom. We are pleased to report that during the past year we have continued to make significant progress in delivering better quality services to the people with learning disabilities that we support.

Almost 80% of the people with learning disabilities associated with the Charity in the Merseyside, Lancashire and Borders (Scotland) Regions, are now living in supported tenancies with security of tenure in accommodation provided by registered social landlords. The quality of housing available to the majority of these tenants has greatly improved since the introduction of supported tenancies. However, in co-operation with a number of Housing Associations, we continue to work to further improve the standard of accommodation available for the small number of people whose accommodation is not yet at the desirable standard.

As indicated in last year’s report we believe that supported tenancies offer the best opportunity to assist people with learning disabilities achieve their rightful place as citizens. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain new funding for supported tenancies for persons with learning disabilities and we must rely mainly on opportunities that arise when funding from an existing tenancy becomes available. There is increasing concern that this funding will continue to reduce and we are examining the other possible opportunities that may exist to support people who receive direct payments or individual budgets.

Prior to the year 2000 we had focussed mainly on the provision of residential care, registered nursing home care and associated day care with the population being provided for becoming increasingly elderly. With the introduction of a range of new support options in the period since the year 2000 there has been a significant increase in the number of younger people with learning disabilities being supported by us. Until very recently our support services to families and carers have been focussed mainly on persons with very high support needs living in the family home and on location based provision. Looking to the future we intend to continue to provide this type of support in more varied settings. It is also intended to place greater emphasis on supporting young people with learning disabilities at the point of transition to adult services and on providing flexible support to families and other carers as required over the lifetime of the individual they support.

Over the past year as a provider of domiciliary support and counselling we found that the challenge of recruiting the additional suitable personnel and retaining them has not been as easy as in the past. Over the previous year we have placed an increased focus on recruitment, induction and training and have, with a reasonable degree of success, explored more creative ways of attracting suitable people to join our staff. This approach was continued in the past year and has obviously paid dividends. However, as indicated in previous reports, given the current rates of remuneration that can be provided in the sector, even though they have improved somewhat, we expect to experience some continuing challenge in attracting, inducting, training and retaining suitable additional staff.

The reduction in the provision of traditional forms of day services has continued over the past year. This is arising because alternative options are being put in place as an integral part of supported living services. The demand from carers, especially from family carers, for a variety of daytime supports is increasing and, as indicated above, we intend to expand the variety of our responses in this area. Our programmes supporting people with learning disabilities in finding, adapting to, and retaining part-time or full-time employment are ongoing. We hope that the new initiatives by statutory agencies to improve employment prospects will create a more positive environment in which to make progress. Unfortunately, the development of ‘social firms’ to provide meaningful employment opportunities is being severely hampered because of the adverse effect on individual’s benefits.

We continue to provide registered care though on a more limited basis. A comprehensive review of the current provision of, and the future need for, registered care was initiated last year in the Borders Region (Scotland) and discussions are ongoing with the relevant agencies regarding our likely future commitment in this area. Outline plans to further improve standards, on the Thingwall Hall campus in the Merseyside Region were submitted to the planning authorities in the autumn of 2004 and a decision is expected before the end of 2005. When outline planning has been achieved the matter will be further pursued with the people with learning disabilities, with staff, and with the families and the statutory authorities. In all Regions we would welcome a clearer indication from the statutory authorities of their specific needs before embarking on any project to answer the requirements of this group.

Overall we continue to make progress in the quality of provision and the quality of accommodation. Staff recruitment, induction and training have shown continued improvement and the quality of leadership is being sustained and advanced. While there is some cause for concern about the future funding of our supported living services the financial performance over the past year has been healthy. The review of our management structure and the overall legal framework initiated last year is ongoing and it is expected that conclusions will be reached on most of the issues under consideration within the coming year.

I would like to thank the Regional Directors, their Regional Management Teams and the staff at every level throughout the Charity for their work during the year. I acknowledge the support and assistance we have received from the statutory authorities in the Merseyside and Lancashire Regions in England and also in the Borders Region in Scotland during the past year.

Finally, on behalf of the people with learning disability associated with the Charity, their families and staff I thank the Trustees for their support at all times. In particular we are grateful for the resources placed at our disposal to deliver the services and to make it possible to continue to implement the changes that are required by the people we support.

Brother Alfred Hassett

National Director