Meeting of the Parliament 22 March 2018
I thank Johann Lamont for lodging her motion, which brings Down’s syndrome awareness week to our attention today, and I thank members across the chamber for their speeches in what has been an important debate in raising awareness of Down’s syndrome.
I thank Gillian Martin for her motion that congratulates the Francis family from Turriff on raising more than £1,000 for Down’s Syndrome Scotland by hosting a coffee morning in the town. I say well done to the Francis family.
I also thank Ruth Maguire for her motion that congratulates five-year-old Chloe Lennon on her outstanding achievement in being selected as the UK ambassador for the US-based charity Nothing Down. Chloe and other ambassadors hope that people all over the world will wear odd socks for world Down’s syndrome awareness day as part of the lots of socks celebrations. We all wish Chloe the very best for the future.
This morning, I was at Ayrshire College in Kilmarnock where, just last week, the college’s Loren Gemmell was awarded the National Union of Students Scotland student of the year award. Loren is a stunning example of what can be achieved by someone with Down’s.
Today, we celebrate Down’s syndrome awareness week by focusing on the theme of inclusion in employment. We recognise the variety of events that are under way this week and congratulate all who are involved. I offer my personal thanks to Down’s Syndrome Scotland for hosting Down’s syndrome awareness week and for all its work in supporting families and people with Down’s syndrome to reach their full potential. As David Stewart highlighted, the organisation does so much to highlight and signpost families and individuals to the support and opportunities that are available for those who have Down’s.
As the minister responsible for the learning disability portfolio, I have been privileged to hear of the valuable contributions that people who have Down’s syndrome make across civic Scotland in areas such as sport, culture, transport and education. People who have Down’s syndrome want to contribute in all areas of life.
Like Kate Forbes, I was personally aware of Down’s syndrome from a very young age as one of my mum’s cousins was a woman with Down’s. She lived to the age of 60 and died within the past 10 years. However, like Kate Forbes’s uncle, she brought joy and laughter to our lives.
Down’s syndrome is the single biggest cause of learning disability. We have heard of the significant improvements in the lives of people with learning disabilities. Moving beyond our shameful past of Victorian care to value the contributions that people who have Down’s syndrome make, we have made vast strides in achieving change. However, work still needs to be done. As the delivery period of Scotland’s learning disability strategy, “The keys to life—Improving Quality of Life for People with Learning Disabilities” reaches its halfway stage, there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to realise transformational change as the first generation of young adults with learning disabilities since the closure of the last long-stay hospitals in Scotland come of age. How we respond to that opportunity will influence the fortunes of future generations.
I could not agree more with Johann Lamont about the need to have better transitions between primary and secondary school, and between that stage and the world of employment. Despite “Principles of Good Transitions 3”, Down’s Syndrome Scotland and others have noted the lack of support, which is why the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability set up the employment task force following its employability report.
People with Down’s syndrome have the same aspirations as everyone else, and they should have the same opportunities. I believe that the transformational change that we need will happen only if a whole-system, whole-population and whole-person approach is taken. That is why my officials are working with Ms Freeman’s officials, who are responsible for the fairer Scotland disability delivery plan, and a range of key partners including Down’s Syndrome Scotland to set out the Government’s ambition for the next phase of delivery of “The keys to life”. Achieving that ambition will require concerted effort across a range of policy areas.