Our response to the Scottish Government’s Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill proposal.

After more than four years of development, the Scottish Government has now published proposed draft provisions for the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill.

Working together towards a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill is a very positive step, since it speaks to many of the challenges we know that neurodivergent people, and families, experience each and every day. It offers valuable policy prescriptions to these challenges.

It cannot, however, go unmentioned that the parliamentary session ends with the LDAN Bill not yet law – despite repeated commitments from the Scottish Government to do so.

A suite of proposals is welcome, but, at a time when demand for services has never been stronger nor the scale of the challenge of meeting needs more readily recognised, legislation would be far better. Whilst inaction persists, people with learning disabilities, for example, continue to receive insufficient support to live independently in a community of their choice and autistic young people continue to be failed by over-stretched ‘mainstream’ schools ill-equipped to meet social-communicatory needs.

Overall, we are encouraged by the publication, which sets out much of the substance that many neurodivergent people and charities have been looking for since 2021. The proposals are necessarily broad (and are somewhat non-committal, given the pending election) while hitting lots of the key points that have been raised in consultation, papers, and in the 3-panel meetings. The sustained commitment to national and local strategies underpinned by statutory guidance, mandatory training and willingness to explore in more detail a broad right to access independent advocacy are particular highlights.

This being said, and given the focus of our own services, we are keen for education and skills development to remain a focus of the Bill, given the particular relevance of both these themes to outcomes for neurodivergent people and their families. While ongoing activity (and the recently published ASL Review) around ASN/L is welcome, this Bill presents a chance to go further for communities particularly impacted by a lack of appropriate provision. The Scottish Government ensuring ‘mandatory training for teachers, practitioners and other educators’ – as envisaged in the 2023 public consultation – remains a policy priority for us, for example.

We urge the next Scottish Government to move quickly to bring an LDAN Bill to the Scottish Parliament in 2026.