ALLIANCE responds to the Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill consultation
- Area of Work: Policy and Research
- Type: News Item
- Published: 22nd April 2024
The Bill should explicitly embed the social model of disability, intersectionality, human rights based and person centred approaches.
The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) welcome the opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill consultation.
We believe that the LDAN Bill has the potential to make significant change if it meaningfully listens to and implements what people with learning disabilities, autistic and neurodivergent people genuinely want and need.
There is a wealth of evidence that disabled people are amongst the most excluded and discriminated against groups in Scottish society; the implication is that existing legal protections are not working. As all aspects of Scottish society need to adapt and change to be more inclusive for people with learning disabilities, autistic and neurodivergent people, we are glad to see that the LDAN Bill consultation reflects many elements of life that people experience and encounter.
The Bill should explicitly embed the social model of disability, intersectionality, human rights based and person centred approaches. To ensure that people covered by the Bill are viewed and treated as equal in all aspects of life, the LDAN Bill should be aligned with and channel the full range of human rights as contained in the United Nations Convention on Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
That ALLIANCE was encouraged to see the Scottish Government’s efforts to co-produce the Bill and communicate its contents in varied accessible ways to communities that the LDAN Bill is for, including Easy Read, short guides, video and audio, Makaton, and BSL.
However, we heard from some members and people with lived experience that they felt unable to give us meaningful feedback due to feeling overwhelmed by the length of the consultation document. Some people with learning disabilities, autistic and neurodivergent people had not heard of the LDAN Bill before we met with them. Unfortunately, we believe that the length of the consultation document will have excluded some people and organisations from responding to the consultation, whether they are people with learning disabilities, autistic and neurodivergent people or not.
You can read our full response via the resource links below.
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