13th November 2025
Adult Social Chair APPG member Matt Lester, who is also supported by Dimensions, appeared on Tuesday 11 November on ITV’s prime-time 7pm evening news slot as part of a panel of people with disabilities.
Interviewed by ITV’s Investigations Editor Daniel Hewitt, Matt Lester described his plight at hearing his local council may cut his support hours.
The more you do, the less support you get,” said Matt.
My deepest concern is for the future. What funding is there going to be? What support is there going to be?
Whatever happens in the budget, we are going to face some big challenges and if we don’t raise concerns that we’re raising today, we’ll lose bus passes, we’ll lose blue badges.
We’ll lose everything.
In a direct response to ITV’s broadcast, Health Secretary Wes Streeting publicly commented on his X account, calling the report ‘powerful,’ ‘heartbreaking,’ and pledging action on Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) issues relating to people with a learning disability.
As covered by ITV on the broadcast, the latest government figures show people with Learning Disabilities die from preventable and treatable health issues around 20 years’ younger than the general population (LeDeR 2023), health issues that could be identified and addressed at Annual Health Checks.
Dimensions is campaigning to make sure people with learning disabilities know their legal right to a free Annual Health Check – and that GP surgery staff know how to make them accessible from point of booking through follow up. Find out more and share our free resources.