Hansard

As the minister with responsibility for autism and learning disabilities, I support having any additional support for those communities. Maurice Corry will be aware that, over the course of the pandemic, additional moneys have been provided to higher and further education to support the wellbeing of students through what has been a challenging and difficult time. I accept that, for members of the learning disability and autism community, the pandemic has been even more challenging. We are working closely with charities and representative bodies to do what we can to support those people, including those in higher and further education. I thank Mr Corry for his intervention on the matter.

I am pleased that discussions have commenced with a wide range of autism and learning disability organisations. I will meet a range of autistic people and people with learning disabilities in the coming weeks in relation to the Scottish Government’s towards transformation plan. In that plan, we have committed to exploring further the proposals for a commission or commissioner to help protect people’s rights.

I turn now to points that members have made in the debate. A couple of members raised concerns about the vaccination programme for people with learning disabilities. We are working closely with national health service boards to ensure that everyone with a learning disability is identified for vaccination. On 25 February, the chief medical officer for Scotland and the chief nursing officer for Scotland wrote to confirm the role of learning disability nurses in both identifying people with a learning disability and delivering those vaccinations, including in people’s homes, where that is more appropriate.

At the outset of the debate, Mr Burnett raised two specific cases. As members will appreciate, due to the laws governing patient confidentiality, I am not able to discuss individual patients. However, secure units, including the state hospital, focus on the provision of high-quality and person-centred care and treatment in a safe and secure environment. All patients at the state hospital have the right to make an application to the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland if they wish to appeal against their detention or the level of security that they are held under. Those safeguards are important and are rightly channelled through the mental health tribunal.

I want to hear at first hand the views of the learning disability and autism communities on the proposal for a commissioner, what they would want a commissioner’s role to be and, crucially, the wider routes that could be investigated to ensure that the human rights of autistic people and people with learning disabilities are upheld and protected. To that end, as well as meeting various organisations, I am arranging a meeting with autistic people and people with learning disabilities, to hear from existing commissioners about their role in improving lives. Again, that will be an opportunity for people with lived experience to be part of the conversation on developments that affect them. I am committed to ensuring that autistic people and people with learning disabilities continue to be at the heart of exploring the introduction of a commissioner.

I thank members for their contributions to the debate.