This post is dedicated to Thomas Rawnsley, a decent young chap, who died yesterday after having a heart attack on Sunday evening. Thomas had spent the last two years of his life in ATUs. Both Thomas and his family wanted to live at home, or in his own place near to his family. It never happened.

Has anyone ever met a social care commissioner? I haven’t. Or if I have, I didn’t know they were a commissioner.

Do they have a background in social care?

If I met one, the first question I would ask is: “what do you see as the advantages of removing someone with autism and/or learning difficulties from their home and putting them in an alien, clinical environment for an unspecified (usually very long. The NAO report yesterday said that the average time spent in in-patient settings is 17 years) period?

Then I’d like to ask…