Bristol City Council Commissions Sir Stephen Bubb To Review Agency Autism Awareness in Bristol

Bristol City Council commissions an autism awareness review to improve access and awareness in the city:

Bristol City Council has commissioned an ‘independent review’ aiming to help Bristol become a more ‘autism-friendly’ city.

Non-statutory services will be under scrutiny by Sir Stephen Bubb, who was commissioned by the Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership.  Bubb was behind the report ‘Winterbourne View — Time for Change’ in 2014 following an investigation by BBC programme Panorama.

Autistic people and those with a learning disability, are being asked to contact Sir Stephen with personal experiences relevant to the review.

The aim is to find out how autism aware local agencies in Bristol are and will include recommendations for making the city more user-friendly.

Sir Stephen said: “The Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership are to be congratulated for setting up this review into the many failings of the systems that should care for people with learning disabilities or autism.

“I have been speaking to three families in particular and am extremely concerned at what they are telling me. I would hope that all agencies locally can learn from my review how these failings can occur and what we need to do to change things for the better. In reviewing these three cases I want to make more general recommendations for action that will have a real impact on the lives of some of our most vulnerable citizens.”

The council’s press release includes a quote from Councillor Mike Davies, Bristol City Council’s Autism Champion. In it he says: “Autism is a spectrum and autistic people are individuals; they do not all experience the world in the same way or have the same needs. However, there are changes that any venue, premises or organisation can make to become more autism-friendly – small changes can go a long way. Becoming more autism-friendly city will benefit our whole community.”

After discussion on Twitter and Bristol Facebook Send groups, it turns out nobody else knew Bristol City Council had an Autism Champion either.

The findings in the review will be published on the Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership website before the end of 2020.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the study should email: sirstephenbubb@gmail.com

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