Through my doctoral research I have been ethnographically exploring how government policy is interpreted and incorporated into social care support for adults with learning disabilities in the UK. I have been particularly interested in looking at policies focused on empowering people with civil and economic rights and responsibilities over their lives. Influenced by liberal values, which position individuals as autonomous, self-sufficient agents, I am interested in exploring how these ‘sit’ in relation to the fact that people with learning disabilities have cognitive impairments and so are, in varying ways, reliant on others for support with aspects of their lives.