Our CEO Zoe Richards highlights a concerning trend that we are witnessing in Wales: the closure of several learning disability organisations, research teams and support services. This is incredibly worrying given that their closures are largely going under the radar.
As a membership organisation representing the learning disability sector in Wales, we are very concerned to hear about third sector organisations and services being forced to close. This reduction in services, research and opportunities will inevitably impact the lives of people with a learning disability and their families both in the short and long term.
Since the Covid pandemic, many people with a learning disability have seen their access to services reduced or cut altogether, leaving them will limited opportunities to get out of the house and placing an additional strain on family carers. This situation is likely to worsen significantly if third sector organisations continue to face financial difficulties that mean they are unable to provide good quality services in the current economic climate.
Leonard Cheshire
An email from a member of their campaign staff to announce he would be leaving stated that Leonard Cheshire were ‘no longer operating in Wales’. The organisation that owned and ran several care homes in Wales had begun selling off the properties over the last year but still employed some staff in Wales until the end of March.
Cymrhyd Rhan
Cymrhyd Rhan, who provided supported living, care and other services, closed its doors on 31 March 2025. The organisation said their challenges began when they had to hand back contracts to local authorities as they could not afford to run good quality services on the funding provided, despite changing their approach and business model.
This charity has just entered liquidation after finding it incredibly difficult to attract funds over the last 12 months.
Learning disability research team – National Centre for Mental Health, Cardiff University
The learning disability research team at Cardiff University were made redundant following the end of the Engage to Change project, due to the lack of in-house funds or external research funds for learning disability related research.
Internationally acknowledged and leading peer researchers, the team were highly knowledgeable and skilled in research on employment, inclusion, education and transition to adulthood. We already knew that data about the lives of people with a learning disability in Wales is extremely poor, so this is another huge blow to the sector.
Scope
Scope have also recently announced huge job losses. We do not yet know how this will affect services in Wales.
These are the examples that have come to our attention so far, but there will be others. With other local groups under threat on a week-to-week basis, we must ask questions. We cannot accept that people with a learning disability will take the strain of tough budget lines and cut backs when they are already facing huge challenges with loss of services and worse health outcomes than non-disabled people.
With the recent announcements on planned benefit reforms, Welsh and UK governments must understand that their vision for disabled people (a vision that we would argue is highly flawed) will never be realised without substantial support and preventative services, often delivered by the third sector.
The impact on people is still unknown but we will be watching carefully and supporting where we can.
Conclusion
The closure and downsizing of learning disability organisations and research teams in Wales reflects a broader crisis in support services for vulnerable populations. Financial constraints, policy reforms, and systemic underfunding have converged to create significant challenges for individuals with learning disabilities and their families.
As these developments unfold, there is an urgent need for comprehensive strategies to ensure that essential services are preserved and adequately funded.
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