On Friday morning the team and I visited The Learning Centre (TLC), Harold Hill, to meet Mick and Ann-Marie Spence, the dynamic family team behind the company.
TLC provides services to adults with learning disabilities, ensuring that they are able to engage in stimulating, fun activities across the day and lead enjoyable, independent lives.
We toured the facility to see the programme of activities on offer, from news editing to cake baking, and talked to Mick and Ann-Marie about some of the challenges of operating in the adult learning services sector. One of the issues highlighted was the lack of an inspections regime for those companies offering day centre services to adults with learning disabilities.
As a result of the concerns they shared with me, I attended Health Questions in the House of Commons this morning and asked Health Ministers whether they would consider expanding the Care Quality Commission's inspections remit to include day centres caring for adults with learning disabilities.