Meeting of the Parliament 01 April 2025
I, too, thank Daniel Johnson for bringing this very important issue to the chamber. I am pleased to speak on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives on this subject, which has also been a topic of interest for the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, of which I am a member. So far, the committee has held three sessions on the learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill, and today we held a session with the Scottish Human Rights Commission.
The evidence on the bill included private and public sessions with people with real-life experiences of learning disabilities, as well as a public session with the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport. In today’s committee session with the SHRC, witnesses said that there was a clear absence of impact from the Scottish Government’s successive policies and plans when it comes to people transitioning from institutionalisation to independent living.
It is estimated that neurodevelopmental conditions affect between 10 and 15 per cent of the Scottish population. However, those conditions are significantly underdiagnosed. Neurodivergence and learning disabilities often co-occur, with an estimated 37 per cent of autistic people having a co-occurring learning disability. A total of 66 per cent of autistic people in Scotland say that they feel socially isolated, while the same percentage of autistic adults have considered suicide during their lifetime.
Two other areas were highlighted by witnesses during the committee’s sessions on the learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill. One was the lack of assessment and diagnosis for learning disabilities, which has been mentioned today, and the second was the lack of adequate training for public bodies such as the police and councils. Witnesses said that such training was weak and not adequate or uniform. Many witnesses said that, because of the lack of training, they felt stereotyped and more likely to face discrimination.
Many survivors of domestic abuse who have learning disabilities said that they felt that they were not taken seriously when speaking to the police, as it was difficult for them to show emotion or to articulate what they wanted to put across. I spoke to a witness who said that black and minority ethnic people with learning disabilities faced more discrimination, with multilayered intersectional aspects. She said that she was discriminated against at work but did not know whether that discrimination came about because of her colour or her ability. She said that there was a lack of resource tailored towards BAME people with learning disabilities.
In one of the public evidence sessions on the learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill, witnesses told us that the consultation was excessive. Many charities and individuals had to sacrifice a lot of time and resources to respond to the consultation only for the bill to never be published by the Scottish Government. People with real-life experience of learning disabilities said that they felt that they were at the bottom of the pile when it came to Scottish Government priorities.
We also heard that people with learning disabilities are more likely to be domestically abused. In fact, the minister said at committee, in response to one of my questions, that
“around 90 per cent of women with learning disabilities will experience gender-based violence.”
However, as I noted at that meeting, of the 64,000 incidents of domestic abuse that were recorded by Police Scotland last year, we do not know how many involved a victim with learning disabilities. In response to that point, the minister said that
“the data is weak, and more work needs to be done to improve that.”—[Official Report, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, 3 December 2024; c 16-17.]
Data collection was also mentioned in today’s committee session with the Scottish Human Rights Commission. Those figures are shocking, and those people should no longer be let down.
In closing, I express my disappointment at the Scottish Government’s delay in introducing this vital legislation. More needs to be done, and I hope that warm words are turned into actions and that the Scottish Government provides clarity on its commitment to legislate in this area.