MPs Take To The Pitch With Our Charity At Labour Party Conference

The Rugby Football League (RFL) and Community Integrated Care brought the power of inclusive sport to the heart of this year’s Labour Party Conference, as MPs joined members of the charity’s Learning Disability Super League for a special rugby league experience at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool.

The event saw MPs compete in a Yorkshire vs Lancashire match hosted by Try Touch Rugby, following a warm-up session led by ten players from the Community Integrated Care Learning Disability Super League.

The experience gave MPs the opportunity to meet people supported by Community Integrated Care, their families and social care professionals, while learning how the charity’s decade-long partnership with rugby league has transformed lives and supported a more sustainable and impactful care system.

Each participant represented a powerful story of how the partnership had changed their life, from improving health and wellbeing to securing employment, building friendships and achieving personal ambitions.

As a lasting reminder of the day, MPs were presented with specially designed England Rugby League shirts created by people supported by Community Integrated Care. Featuring powerful symbols of inclusion, the shirts were worn by England’s Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair teams during the Rugby League World Cup.

John Hughes, Director of Partnerships and Communities at Community Integrated Care, said:

“As the Labour Party and the country explore a new vision for social care, it was fantastic to partner with the Rugby Football League to showcase a relationship that has tackled inequalities, created opportunities and delivered real inclusion.

“This work matters. When we create a more enabling society, people naturally live with greater independence. Through programmes like our Learning Disability Super League, tens of thousands of hours of additional support are provided every year without cost to the taxpayer, helping people lead fuller and more independent lives.

“With research showing that fewer than one in ten people with a learning disability achieving the recommended levels of physical activity for a healthy life, it is vital that government looks at innovations like this partnership as part of its efforts to tackle inequalities and improve outcomes in social care.

We are very grateful to the Rugby Football League for hosting this special event, and the team at Try Touch Rugby. We truly appreciate every MP, player, family member and social care worker who supported this special day.”

RFL interim chair Rhodri Jones said: “The War of the Roses game is always a great way of bringing MPs closer to rugby league and allowing them to experience for themselves some of what makes our sport special.

“This Labour Government, under a long-standing rugby league fan Andy Burnham, has already voiced its support of our game.

“We are proud of rugby league’s place at the heart of so many communities, and it was particularly good to have people from Community Integrated Care involved in the day.”

Selby MP, Kier Mather, said: “Thanks to the Community Integrated Care Learning Disability Super League players who have shared the day with us and done such an amazing job.

“This is truly the game of rugby league at its finest because you saw rugby league values on the pitch today: people supporting each other, looking out for each other, pouring their passion and creativity into this amazing game that we love.”

Matt Price, who took part in the event and has been supported through Community Integrated Care’s programmes, said, “For much of my life, people focused on what they thought I couldn’t do. Through Community Integrated Care, the focus has always been on what I can do. Thanks to the opportunities I’ve had through the charity, I’ve made lasting friendships, developed new skills, found employment and built a life that I’m proud of.”

“Being able to share my story with MPs was really important to me. I wanted them to see what can happen when people with learning disabilities, learning difficulties and autistic people are given the right opportunities and support. I’m proud to be part of the Learning Disability Super League and proud to have had the opportunity here, to show the difference these programmes make.”

Sharon Woodham, family member of a Learning Disability Super League player, said, “The work of Community Integrated Care and the Rugby Football League has changed the life of my son, Mitch, and so many others. These opportunities help people grow in independence, improve their health, and be part of a community they love. It’s incredibly important that people with learning disabilities, autistic people, and their support networks, are seen, heard and included. It was fantastic to see MPs meet people with lived experience and witness the impact of these programmes first-hand. I hope it inspires them to understand just how valuable these opportunities are and how this type of support should exist in every community.”