Lancashire Learning Disability Partnership Board

20/03/2026

20/03/2026

Lancashire Government Reorganisation (LGR). You can have your say about the proposals for the new councils. visit: https://lancashirelgr.co.uk
Watch the video below for more information.
Responses need to be given by FRIDAY 26 MARCH!

19/03/2026

Last Thursday some of the East Lancashire Voice members delivered Communication Awareness training to social work students at the University of Lancashire.

The training is so important as social workers need to be able to talk, and listen, to people with learning disabilities in order to support them.

Linda said "It's so important that our voices are heard by social work students"

12/03/2026

Jean and Linda, all ready at County Hall! 🤩🤩🤩

We are super proud of the work they are doing to raise the profile of the Learning Disability Peer Advocacy Network and to champion the voice of disabled people in Lancashire.

Watch the webcast from 1pm
https://council.lancashire.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx...

10/03/2026

🤩We've got something exciting happening this week!

Jean and Linda are proud to be representing the Lancashire Learning Disability Peer Advocacy Network at the Lancashire County Council Full Council Meeting on Thursday 12th March.

☺️Today they have been practising their question for the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport.

👉Increasing the cost to travel before 9.30am on weekdays has impacted people with a learning disability who have work, volunteering, training or health appointments to get to.

👉Jean and Linda would like to open up the conversation about how to do better and make things fairer.

You can watch them live in action on Thursday by clicking on the link below👇
https://tinyurl.com/3xzse5za

17/02/2026

East Lancs Voices are holding an open forum about saving money on energy bills. Come along and find out more. Accrington Library, 26 Feb, 1.30pm. Contact James at [email protected]

11/02/2026

Last week the Health and Friends and Relationships subgroups met in People First's Leyland office. Thank you to Healthwatch's Steve and Cora for making us so welcome and supplied with biscuits.

27/01/2026

Great work from the East Lancashire Voices group 🙌

At last week’s East Lancashire Voices meeting, we welcomed Ian Barratt, Principal Transport Officer for Smart Ticketing and Concessionary Travel at Lancashire County Council.

Ian answered our questions about bus travel safety and renewing our Now Cards, which was really helpful. We were also joined by two visitors from The BASE in Great Harwood, who came along to see what we do. We enjoyed learning about the great activities they offer at their day service, including Bingo and a Friday quiz!

We’ve invited them to our upcoming Open Forum meeting on energy saving, and we’re looking forward to connecting again.

15/01/2026

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of Stephen Haywood, co-chair of the Friends and Relationships subgroup.

He was an incredible self and peer advocate, tirelessly speaking up for the rights of people with a learning disability to have the friendships and relationships they choose. We will be forever grateful to Stephen for the positive impact he has had throughout the learning disabled community in Lancashire. His passion lives on here.

We are thinking of all who knew Stephen and will hold him in our thoughts and hearts as we continue the work that meant so much to him. Together, let's keep on speaking up, challenging injustice, and letting people know that everyone deserves the right to build meaningful connections.

We are deeply saddened to share the news of the death of Stephen Haywood, the first ever member of Meet N Match; one of our original relationship ambassadors and a powerful advocate for the rights of people with learning disabilities to have relationships.

Stephen was there from the beginning of Meet N Match, bravely speaking up about the importance of friendship, love, s*x and intimacy, and challenging attitudes that too often deny people with learning disabilities the right to meaningful relationships.

One of Stephen’s proudest achievements was his involvement in setting up Meet N Match, back in 2016. He was genuinely delighted to see the project continue to grow and develop under Spring into Action CIC and deeply appreciative that its original idea had been carried forward so that many others could benefit.

Stephen also made a huge contribution to the Friends and Relationships Group over many years. He worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the importance of s*x and intimacy in people’s lives, always bringing warmth, humour and honesty to the conversation. He loved to make people laugh and was often the first to welcome new members, helping them feel safe, valued and included.

Stephen’s passion, enthusiasm and belief that everyone deserves the chance to connect, love and be loved will be carried on through everyone who knew him.

Stephen will be greatly missed, but his voice, values and advocacy will continue to shape our work.

We would love to hear your memories of Stephen in the comments below

08/01/2026

Please read and share this article by colleagues Learning Disability England. It's really important. The LeDeR Programme is not just about collecting data, it's people, loved ones. Doing this properly, in a timely manner matters, because people matter. LeDeR needs to do better.

The latest Learning from Lives and Deaths of People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People (LeDeR) report - a crucial review into why people with learning disabilities and autistic people die earlier than others - has been withdrawn due to incomplete data and is being republished in January 2026.

This delay is deeply frustrating for families and campaigners who have been waiting for answers and action.

LeDeR isn’t just numbers, it’s about real lives lost and preventable deaths, and every delay feels like another barrier to change.

Read more about why this matters and what needs to happen next Learning Disability England member reps 👉 https://tinyurl.com/3ra7h6a6

25/11/2025

This time last week, Mark, Jean and Maria were in Lancaster at the Lancaster District CVS FestiVOL. This week, they've been following up connections they made on the day.

Hopefully some more exciting work will happen.
It's definitely better when we work together! 👏🤝👏

13/10/2025

Are you a parent or carer of an adult (18+) with a learning disability living in Lancashire?

✅ We want to make sure your voice is heard 🙌🙌

✅ We want to work alongside you to create meaningful change for adults with a learning disability. 🩵🩵

✅ We want to build connections with parent carer groups across the county.

Carers Link Lancashire
The Lancashire Carers Service
Lancashire Parent Carer Forum
Lancashire County Council

Interested? Want to find out more?👍👍
Get in touch!
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01228 474479 (please leave a message and we will get back to you)

Check out our website for more information about the Learning Disability Partnership board and its subgroups.
https://wearepeoplefirst.co.uk/inclusion-2/lancashire-learning-disability-partnership-board/