How well is your local authority complying with statutory guidance on social care for deafblind people? Contact your councillors now to find out and urge them to do better.

Social care is crucial for deafblind people.  It includes services such as communicator-guides and intervenors, which enable deafblind people to get out and about, communicate with others, take part in activities and generally be a part of society.

However, getting the right services can be a struggle for deafblind people and their families. There is government guidance that aims to change this.

The guidance applies to both children and adults.  It means that local authorities should:

• Identify, make contact with, and keep a record of deafblind people living in the area
• Make sure that deafblind people’s needs are assessed by people with specialist knowledge of deafblindness
• Provide appropriate services, including one-to-one support for deafblind people
• Provide information in accessible formats
• Give a senior manager responsibility for services for deafblind people.

​The guidance has made a significant difference to the lives of many deafblind people but some local authorities have done more to comply with the guidance than others.  As social care budgets get squeezed, there is a danger that compliance with the deafblind guidance will drop and fewer deafblind people will get the services they need.

Contact your councillors to make sure that your local authority does everything it can to comply with the guidance and provide appropriate services for deafblind people.  We’ve provided a basic letter that you can use.  Changing and adding to it to give your own views on the guidance and the importance of appropriate services for deafblind people will make it much more powerful.  

> Email your councillors about the deafblind guidance for children
> Email your councillors about the deafblind guidance for adults