Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2014
I, too, thank John Wilson for bringing this debate to the chamber during Down’s syndrome awareness week. The debate helps to bring attention to not only the awareness week but the issue itself.
I am pleased that Down’s Syndrome Scotland has recently celebrated 30 years of providing many essential services, support and information to people with Down’s syndrome. As Mark McDonald and Malcolm Chisholm have pointed out, it is not the best-resourced organisation in Scotland and yet it provides an excellent service to the people who need it.
As every member has mentioned, many people with Down’s syndrome can face immediate stigma as assumptions—wrong assumptions, in many cases—are made about their abilities. That is why we need to promote a positive image of people with Down’s syndrome to the general public to help to get rid of that stigma and to create a more understanding environment so that people with Down’s syndrome can reach their full potential.
Down’s syndrome awareness week gives us the opportunity to raise awareness of Down’s syndrome and to challenge myths surrounding the condition. It also gives us a chance to highlight the concerns of people with Down’s syndrome and to ensure that those concerns are not forgotten.
I take the opportunity also to congratulate Down’s Syndrome Scotland on its success with the communication skills project, which has been mentioned. The project provides support to 84 families throughout Scotland, helping children with Down’s syndrome to develop their communication skills and providing parents with the tools to support them.
The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lives of people with learning disabilities and their families and carers in Scotland. People with Down’s syndrome make up 20 per cent of the learning disability population. I am therefore pleased that Down’s Syndrome Scotland is an active member of the implementation group for “The keys to life”, which is working to drive forward the recommendations of the strategy.
I am heartened by the genuine commitment of the group’s members to improve the quality of life for people with learning disabilities by building on the foundations that we already have in place in Scotland—through “The same as you? A review of services for people with learning disabilities”—and to deliver services that will further improve lives through the implementation of “The keys to life” project.
Thirteen years on from “The same as you?”, the principles that underpinned that policy of valuing people with learning disabilities are as relevant as ever. People with learning disabilities should have the opportunity to contribute to the communities in which they live, work and socialise.
People with learning disabilities tell us that, since “The same as you?” initiative was introduced, they have generally been more accepted and valued in their communities than ever before and they are now rightly seen as people who can contribute to Scottish society in numerous positive ways. I believe that those are the rights and freedoms that everyone should have and that the statutory agencies should be transparent in demonstrating how they respect and uphold human rights in all of their policies and practices. What people with Down’s syndrome and learning disabilities need is information so that they know what their human rights are and how to exercise those rights.
Health is an important issue for people with Down’s syndrome and learning disabilities, which is why much of the emphasis of “The keys to life” is on health. We need to know about the needs of people with learning disabilities. For example, we know that people with Down’s syndrome experience higher prevalence and earlier onset—around 30 to 40 years younger—of dementia than the general population. That is why I am pleased that the national dementia strategy helps to diagnose those at risk.
The Scottish learning disabilities observatory has been commissioned to lead work in partnership with NHS boards to improve data on people with learning disabilities. Not only has it committed to identify numbers of people with learning disabilities who have health needs; it is committed to helping us to improve health outcomes and address the unnecessary premature deaths of people with learning disabilities.
Having meaningful relationships is a priority for people with learning disabilities. Having the chance to make and sustain friendships and relationships is something that improves their wellbeing and quality of life. The evaluation of “The same as you?” tells us that only one third of those interviewed were able to name at least one close friend. That tells us that there is a need for people with learning disabilities to be given more opportunities to make and keep friends.
We are currently working in partnership with Equal Futures and other organisations. The “I’ll be there” friendship event took place on 30 January 2014, with around 180 people in attendance. Further events will take place across Scotland during the rest of this year.
We are committed to helping people with learning disabilities who want to work. We know that only 25 per cent of people who have learning disabilities are in employment or training for employment. That is why we have funded the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability, including for people who have Down’s syndrome, to lead on an initiative called project search, which offers a programme of work experience to students who have learning disabilities to improve their chances of employment.
We know that living an independent life is important to people who have Down’s syndrome and other learning disabilities. This means having the same choice and control in their lives as other people and having the right help and support to be an active part of their community. Other policies, which are not solely directed at people who have learning disabilities, are also relevant, such as the opportunities for self-directed support, the legislation for which comes into effect next month. That legislation will give people who have Down’s syndrome and learning disabilities more choice and control over their day-to-day lives.
I have only touched the surface of what can be achieved in the next 10 years. We all have to commit to the agenda of improving the lives of people who have learning disabilities and their families and carers in Scotland. We need to continue to reduce barriers and discrimination. We need to commit to ensuring that the aspirations of people who have Down’s syndrome and other learning disabilities become real.
Down’s syndrome awareness week will help us to realise how we can live in a Scotland that values people who have Down’s syndrome and provides them with the opportunities to live in an equal society in which they are truly valued and properly respected. We look forward to continuing to work with Down’s Syndrome Scotland and other learning disability organisations to drive this agenda forward. It is a critical ingredient in making Scotland a better place in tomorrow’s world.
Meeting closed at 17:37.