Last Updated on September 8, 2025

The 2023 LeDeR report on avoidable and preventable deaths of people with learning disabilities has been published and presented to Parliament. The Learning from Lives and Deaths – people with a learning disability and autistic people (LeDeR) report investigates deaths in UK adults with a learning disability in an effort to provide learning for the future and improve care.

The report is led by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London, in partnership with the University of Central Lancashire, and Kingston University London, is produced on behalf of NHS England. This report analysed the deaths of 3,556 people, notified between January and December 2023, and established a number of findings.

The percentage of 'avoidable deaths' – where death occurs in someone under the age of 75 to a condition deemed preventable, treatable, or both – has fallen from 46% in 2021 to 39% in 2023. The analysis also found that 37% of cases reported some form of delay in care or treatment, while 28% reported instances where diagnosis and treatment guidelines were not met.

This year’s report placed a greater focus on the deaths of people with a learning disability from ethnic minority backgrounds, and those who had died and had a severe or profound learning disability. Researchers found that, compared to those coming from White backgrounds, those from minority ethnic backgrounds had a significantly lower median age of death. Between January 2021 and December 2023, the median age of death in those from Asian and Asian British backgrounds reported a median age of death of 43 – a 20 year difference when compared to those from White backgrounds.

Further analysis found that, where 44% of people from White backgrounds were aged 65 and above when their deaths were reported, the same percentage of people from Asian backgrounds were in the 24-49 age category.

Researchers also analysed the data available for people with a severe or profound learning disability, approximately one third of the reported cases since 2021 fall into this category. Analysis established that those individuals have a younger median age of death (57 vs 64) and are more likely to have a treatable cause of death due to conditions such as pneumonia or seizures, while those with mild or moderate learning disability were more likely to have preventable causes of death, such as those related to heart disease or cancer.

The report includes an analysis of deaths among autistic adults without a learning disability. While it shows that mental health issues were a prominent concern for many autistic people, researchers stress the need for continued data collection to improve the understanding of mortality among autistic adults.

Commenting on the findings, Professor Andre Strydom, the report’s Chief Investigator and a Professor in Intellectual Disabilities said, 'Our analysis of this year’s data has once again established that the number of avoidable deaths in people with a learning disability has fallen. While this improvement is undeniably heartening, we cannot overlook the context, as the rate is almost double that of avoidable deaths in the general population (21%).

'Our analysis shows that there has been progress in some areas, but there is also a need for ongoing reporting of deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people, and for initiatives such as annual health checks and support when people are admitted to hospital to reduce avoidable deaths.'

Dr Rory Sheehan, Senior Clinical Lecturer and one of the report’s authors said, 'Although the LeDeR annual report includes a limited number of reviews of the deaths of autistic adults, the data underscore the need to ensure timely access to good quality mental health support adapted to the needs of this group. LeDeR data continues to be important in demonstrating the health inequities people with a learning disability and autistic people experience and pressing the need for change.'

Kathryn Marsden OBE, Chief Executive at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), said, 'This report is a stark reminder of the profound inequalities in health and social care outcomes facing people with a learning disability and autistic people. It is indefensible that people with a learning disability still die, on average, almost 20 years earlier than the general population and are three times more likely to die from a condition which could have been treated. These are not just numbers; they are lives cut short.

'SCIE has analysed the CQC’s reports of local authority performance and found that the Mental Capacity Act isn’t being applied consistently. This leaves people without the protections they are entitled to. The LeDeR report confirms these concerns. The lesson is clear, we must stop treating these failings as inevitable and start treating them as urgent priorities. What’s needed now is action.

'We need Government, commissioners, providers and frontline professionals to pull together to eradicate these inequalities and close the gap in life expectancy. That means delivering on the basics: ensuring social care packages genuinely meet people’s needs, the Mental Capacity Act is upheld in every case, and high-quality care is accessible to everyone who needs it, when they need it.'

A copy of the main report and accessible materials can be found on the LeDeR webpage.

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