MORE than 1000 campaigners and MSPs have called on John Swinney to reconsider ditching world-leading legislation aimed at improving lives for those with autism.
In his Programme for Government last week, the First Minister dropped the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill which would have seen Scotland become the first country in the world to have an autism commissioner.
A commissioner would have upheld and protected the rights of autistic people across a range of sectors, and campaigners have previously said one is “desperately needed” in Scotland to stop neurodivergent people being marginalised across “every organ of the state”.
The legislation included proposals for more inclusive communications and mandatory training in the public sector to address the barriers faced by people with autism, neurodivergence, and learning disabilities.
Now, figures from across autistic and disability organisations, as well as speech and language therapists, social workers, and Green MSPs have signed an open letter to Swinney criticising him for "abandoning" those who have shared "the most painful experiences of our lives" over the past five years the bill has been in motion.
Kelly Given, who spent 13 years being misdiagnosed before finally being told she was autistic at aged 24, told The National: "The LDAN Bill was never going to fix every problem overnight [...] but Scotland was working on something genuinely ground-breaking.
"The creation of the world’s first dedicated autism commissioner would have been a significant step forward for autistic rights and accountability, with the potential to establish a model that other countries could follow. It was our opportunity to set the standard for autistic rights at a time when the political tide is turning against us.
"Instead, John Swinney has followed suit by abandoning us when we need his help most.
"That is what makes abandoning the bill so devastating. We were painfully close to turning years of lived experience into tangible and life changing progress. It would have gone so far in preventing my story from being needlessly repeated, as it is now destined to be as a result of this failure."
Rob Holland, director of the National Autistic Society Scotland, described the scrapping of the bill as a "huge setback".
“We have heard from hundreds of people in recent days who feel deeply disappointed and let down," he told The National.
"The bill was a vital opportunity to tackle the inequalities autistic people face every day, improve accountability across public services, and help ensure autistic people receive the support they need to live fulfilled lives on their own terms.
“Too often, autistic people and their families are driven into crisis because there remains a gap between the support people should receive and what they actually receive.
“We will continue to advocate for change and support autistic people and their families, but we need decision makers to set out how they will deliver the improvements that have been promised.”
The Greens have raised concerns about how improvements to support services will now be measured, what outcomes the Scottish Government expects to achieve and what circumstances would lead ministers to consider further statutory measures.
Scottish Greens health spokesperson Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill said: “People with learning disabilities, autistic people, and neurodivergent people have waited far too long for the systemic change they have been promised.
“There is a lot of important work already underway, but we need to know how the Scottish Government will measure whether it is actually improving people’s lives and what happens if the current approach does not deliver.
“A full LDAN bill would give us the opportunity to establish clear and consistent pathways to support across Scotland, and ensure that people’s rights are embedded in decision-making.”
Minister for Mental Wellbeing Maree Todd said the Government had thought better of pursuing the bill after concluding it would take "time to progress and implement".
She said: “This government remains committed to improving outcomes for people with learning disabilities, autistic people and neurodivergent people.
“After careful consideration we have concluded that action is needed now through policy reform, service improvement and targeted investment, rather than by the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill, which would take time to progress and implement.
“Our focus is on delivering practical improvements now, such as the £7.6 million I announced yesterday for neurodevelopmental support for children and families, while retaining the option of future legislation should evidence show that additional statutory measures are required to achieve the outcomes that people expect and deserve.”
