ABSTRACT
The 1980s saw the government state explicitly that everyone would be better off in their own home and that children should not be admitted to hospital as a place for long term care. The White Paper says community care means providing the right level of intervention and support to enable people to achieve maximum independence and control over their own lives. Even the White Paper stated that it has become increasingly recognised that the needs of the most handicapped people, even those whose handicap is severe, are largely for social care rather than health care. Increasingly therefore, services are taking the form of packages of social care for people living independently, or supported in small group homes or residential communities. Residential associations and neighbourhood groups have sprung up to resist the purchase or use of a house in their neighbourhood to become a home for some people with learning difficulties.
