Council backs investment to support learning disabled

Jubilee Lodge in Skipton will provide resources and respite for people with complex needs and their carers.

Built at a cost of about £1.4m, it is part of a major £7.7m investment by North Yorkshire County Council’s Health and Adult Services directorate.

Accommodation at Jubilee Lodge includes five en-suite bedrooms, a conservatory, and a room which can be used for activities.

The council’s executive member for health and adult services, Coun Clare Wood, said the authority was determined to improve services despite the serious financial pressures facing the authority.

“The county council is determined to do its utmost, despite the current severe financial pressures, to ensure that the most vulnerable people in our society get the services to which they are entitled.”

She performed the official opening ceremony alongside the chairman of the county council, Coun Cliff Trotter.

She added: “Jubliee Lodge is part of a major investment in services which will improve the general level of care and support, and will give people with complex needs, and the people who look after them, the kind of help and assistance they deserve.”

Three towns – Skipton, Selby and Scarborough – will benefit from the overall investment in services.

Selby’s Day Activity Centre is undergoing improvements costing £3.8m which are due to be completed next year.

And Scarborough’s Elders Street centre received £2.4m for improvements.

A council spokesman said: “Coupled with the introduction of personal budgets to help people to live independently, the programme represents a significant improvement for people with complex needs, their families, and their carers.”