§ Lord Ashley of Stokeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the current availability of people specifically trained to assist deafblind people in the United Kingdom; how this compares with the number available in 1997; and what steps they have taken to increase training places. [HL 2039]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathInformation on the numbers of people trained to assist deafblind people is not held centrally.
With support from the Department of Health and other funders, the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) created an infrastructure of trainers, assessors and materials for the delivery of training and assessments leading to the Level 2 award in deafblind support work. This award is accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and awarded by CACDP, while the training is offered by the key national organisations (Sense, Deafblind UK, Deafblind Scotland and The Royal National institute for the Blind). Accreditation began part way through 2001.
In 2002 (the first full year) there were 287 candidates for accreditation (pass rate 86 per cent), with 22 trainers of trainers currently registered to deliver the training.