<p>Services for people with learning disabilities have seen massive changes over the past decade. The focus has shifted to promoting inclusion, rights, choice, advocacy and enhancing the access people with learning disabilities have to non-specialist provision. This agenda gathered pace with the publication of the Valuing People White Paper (Department of Health (DH) 2001)). Last year, ministers announced that by 2025 disabled people should be respected and included as equal members of society (Cabinet Office 2005). The learning disability open meeting is a collaborative enterprise and strives to play a small part in such developments. It seeks to exert a local, regional and national influence by changing how people with learning disabilities are viewed.</p>