Read the latest Lewisham People’s Parliament report on Money and Benefits
Read our new people’s parliament report on Money and Benefits! In March 2025, we held a People’s Parliament about money and benefits. We talked about benefits, the cost of living and scams.
You can read the report here
or click on the picture of the report
39 people with learning disabilities came to share their views, including guests from Generate Voices, People First, Lambeth Assembly and Brighton & Hove Speak Out.
Jane Easter from Forest Hill Job Centre, and Michael and Noah from South East London Community Energy came to speak to us about benefits and energy costs.
We ran 3 workshops
- ‘Benefits’ with Jane Easter, and our money management advocate Michelle
- ‘Scams’ with Lewisham Speaking Up, where we used an Easy Read scams booklet made by Lewisham Speaking Up and Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board
- ‘Cost of Living’ by Lewisham Speaking Up
Read the report to find out what people said in full, but here are some highlights!
- People with learning disabilities need more support on the rising cost of living, through better benefits and higher paying jobs
- Scams target people with learning disabilities and affect their trust and mental health. People need more information about scams and easier ways to report them when they happen
- People with learning disabilities need more support when benefits change. They need more information on what’s happening, explained clearly
- It is getting harder to pay for essential things like food, and social activities. This affects people with learning disabilities disproportionately, and pushes people out of social life
Our next People’s Parliament will be on the 6th June, 10:30am – 3:00pm at the Catford Civic Suite, when we will talk about Mental Health. Open to all people with learning disabilities living in Lewisham borough. Contact ellie@lsup.org.uk for more information.
