Christmas Adjournment

It feels like this has been a long time coming, so I had better make the most of it, but it is always a great pleasure to listen to so many excellent speeches, in particular the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton), who represents her constituents so effectively. It is now just a week until Christmas, traditionally a time of giving and joy for families throughout the country. Obviously, I wish the staff in the House, you, Mr. Deputy Speaker and your colleagues, and other hon. Members across the political divide a very happy Christmas and new year, but I would like to focus on those who are left behind at Christmas: people who are perhaps forgotten at this time of year. I want to talk about a club in my constituency called the Sun club, which caters for young people with learning disabilities in the eastern part of my constituency. Every Friday night, that club offers a place where vulnerable young people can have what equates to a genuine social life, and where young people with severe challenges in life are able to be safe and happy and to take part in all sorts of wonderful social activities, including outings, sports and meeting up with friends. Many of those friendships have developed over decades from the time of primary school. That is why the young people love the club so much. I am told that there is no similar provision for young people with learning disabilities anywhere in Reading borough. In my two and a half years as an MP, I have certainly not seen anything similar. The service also offers a welcome respite for parents and carers for a few hours a week, from 6 to 9 pm on a Friday. They benefit not only because their child is happy and safe in that environment, but because they get a short break each week from what is a lifetime of caring. The House is only too well aware of the massive financial and emotional burden of caring that many families take from the state each year. I visited the Sun club and spoke with parents and users. They genuinely cherish the service. You would think, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that the local authority would, too, but you would be wrong. Reading borough council wants to close the club because it does not appear to fit neatly into one of its budgetary boxes. The Sun club is currently funded by the youth service, which is supposed to be for 13 to 19-year-olds, but is also for those up to the age of 25 who have learning disabilities. Apparently, the club has a few members who are over the 25-years age limit. Parents understand the council's dilemma and wish to work with it to find a sensible solution, but the actions of the local authority have been bordering on the heartless. In August, the local authority wrote to parents to inform them of the budgetary problem but promised to manage the situation"““sensitively and in consultation with parents…I will be writing to inform you of further progress, inviting you to a meeting to discuss this in full.””" It is with great regret that I inform the House that there has been no real consultation with parents and certainly no meeting to discus this proposal in full, or any progress. Many letters to the local authority from parents have simply gone unanswered. Answers that I have received from the local authority to my inquiries on their behalf have been at best inaccurate in describing the current situation. Worse, the local authority is now taking disciplinary action against the member of staff who raised concerns on behalf of parents about what was happening. It is always difficult to comment on matters going through due process, but I would say to the local authority that what it is doing will look very unpleasant and wrong to the outside world. Those thinking that we all have to work within constraints and budgets are right, but the astonishing thing is that the cost of the club is a mere £5,700 a year. This money could be found from a £0.5 billion annual budget if there was truly the will to do so. By way of advice to Reading borough council, I would say three things. First, stop trying to bully parents and instead work with them, as it said it would from the outset, to find a solution for these young people. This club is worth supporting. Secondly, drop the disciplinary action against the youth worker, which reflects extraordinarily badly against the local authority. Thirdly, reflect very carefully on the special educational needs support in Reading. There are huge problems even for those children in schools, but for those over 18 the gaps in provision are absolutely enormous. Where there is a success, such as the club, do not set out to destroy it simply because it cannot be made to fit into a particular budgetary pot.