Committee
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee 20 January 2026 [Draft]
20 Jan 2026 · S6 · Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Item of business
Neurodivergence
Dr Jim Crabb (Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland)
Watch on SPTV
I would be glad to. Thank you so much for allowing us to come and give evidence on this issue, which is probably one of the widest and most pressing issues that Scotland is facing just now. I am a general adult psychiatrist, so I work with people from the ages of 18 to 65. I have been the lead clinician for autism at NHS Forth Valley. Before becoming policy lead for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, I was an associate medical director, so I was responsible for running, managing and maintaining mental health services in a part of Scotland that is fairly representative. Forth Valley has pockets of real urban deprivation, right through to people in very rural communities. That has allowed me, personally, to become aware of the issue.It is important to start by saying that the scale of the need that has been uncovered over the past 10 years is unprecedented, and it was unpredicted. It is probably also worth noting that Scotland is not unique. Every economically developed country in the world is facing the same need. No country predicted this need, no country prepared for it well and no country is managing the need particularly well just now.We do not think that there is any value in pointing fingers, asking, “Whose fault is this?”. We are where we are. The really positive thing is that we have the opportunity to think about the issue differently in Scotland, and we can show the world how to build a society and a system that can provide kind, compassionate and meaningful support to people who are neurodivergent.
In the same item of business
The Convener (Karen Adam)
SNP
Good morning, and welcome to the second meeting in 2026 of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. We have received apologies from Paul O’K...
Dr Jim Crabb (Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland)
I would be glad to. Thank you so much for allowing us to come and give evidence on this issue, which is probably one of the widest and most pressing issues t...
Dr Leonie Boeing (Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland)
I echo those thanks for convening this meeting and giving us so much time to present our evidence. As a bit of background, I have been a consultant child and...
The Convener
SNP
We move to questions from committee members, beginning with Maggie Chapman.
Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green)
Green
Good morning to you both. Thank you for being here today and for the detail in your report.I am interested in a couple of different areas, one of which is di...
Dr Crabb
That is a huge area. It is not an either/or situation; it is an and situation. That is one of the challenges. We are taught, particularly in the UK, to think...
Maggie Chapman
Green
I will pick up on the second example that you gave. Clearly, in that case, a diagnosis was essential to opening up care packages. I am not at all trying to d...
Dr Crabb
Absolutely. We have recommended that as one of the 10 pillars of work that are needed across society. We should take a needs-based approach to support in sch...
Dr Boeing
It is a fascinating question, and people have very different feelings about it. We must be sensitive to what an individual wants or needs, because this is al...
Maggie Chapman
Green
Thanks to both of you—that is helpful. You talked about meeting needs when they arise. Some children go on to the waiting list as teenagers and, if current w...
Dr Crabb
The work is absolutely consistent with the pillars of work that we recommended in our multisystem report, which was published in October. As you pointed out,...
Maggie Chapman
Green
Thanks very much. Do you have anything to add, Leonie?
Dr Boeing
We need to adapt support for kids. The context is school, education and the need to mobilise the third sector. I have never met a more passionate, motivated,...
Dr Crabb
It is about equality of access, which is why we need central commissioning in this area—the landscape is currently so fragmented. We have more than 32 differ...
Dr Boeing
One size will not fit all for every area. If we look at the workforce issues that exist, we can see that some areas have no child and adolescent psychiatrist...
Maggie Chapman
Green
Your comments—especially your point about the fact that inclusion is good for everyone, regardless of diagnosis or condition—provide a helpful foundation for...
The Convener
SNP
Before we move on to questions from Tess White, Paul McLennan has a supplementary.
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP)
SNP
When I met you guys, a key thing that came through in our discussion was the need for a multi-agency approach. I think that you are right to say that the Gov...
Dr Boeing
Yes, and that is a massive issue that we have been talking about for decades. It is an issue across the board, but I agree that there needs to be a universal...
Dr Crabb
To follow on from that, it is one of those situations in which the answer is, “Yes—and”. We always need more people in the workforce and we need to plan for ...
Paul McLennan
SNP
Thank you—that is very helpful.
The Convener
SNP
We now have questions from Tess White.
Tess White (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
A few things that you have said have really resonated, and I thank you for the report. I want to pick up the point about what humans need to grow and thrive....
Dr Crabb
The answer is yes. Research comes out all the time, but we have done rapid reviews of the evidence and have worked with colleagues in NHS Inform to update it...
Tess White
Con
Noise is another issue, as Dr Boeing said. I wonder whether, when schools were designed to be open plan, anyone actually thought about the human factors.I wa...
Dr Boeing
It is not my area of expertise, but research has shown that ultra-processed foods are linked to increased mental distress and have an effect on performance, ...
Tess White
Con
They used to play outside.
Dr Boeing
The digital stuff is a real hot potato at the moment, but there is a lot of work going on in that area. There is also a degree of urgency. Dr Jim Crabb is pa...
Dr Crabb
I am. We have the lessons from history. There was literally no argument about cigarette smoking and lung disease, but we waited decades before anything was d...
Tess White
Con
You talked about 45,000 people waiting for diagnosis, and I think that more than half of them are children. Is there a huge risk arising from the fact that p...