Liz Kendall MP, Labour’s Shadow Care Minister, responding to Sir Stephen Bubb’s review of services for people with learning disabilities “Winterbourne View: Time for Change” said:

“After the appalling scandal at Winterbourne View, Ministers promised to move people out of Assessment and Treatment Units and into the community by 1st June 2014. Yet almost three and a half years later there has been barely any change.

“This failure is a total disgrace. People with learning disabilities and their families don’t want yet another review, they want action.

“Ministers should now set a clear, two year deadline for moving people out of hospital and into the community.

“People with learning disabilities and their families should also be guaranteed the right to have a personal budget for their care, backed up with high quality advocacy and support. This would fundamentally shift power into their hands.

“And a specific individual in NHS England must be identified as responsible for delivering change.

“Without clear deadlines for action, more fundamental ways of empowering service users, and much stronger lines of accountability this review risks gathering dust alongside all the others.”