Working together towards a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: Costs and benefits considerations

Introduction

This paper sets out the Scottish Government’s current understanding of the costs and benefits that would need to be considered for the potential Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill. It is reflective of the current proposals as set out in ‘Working together towards a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: current proposals for potential Bill provisions’.

This paper is intended to support a more rounded understanding of the current proposals as well as increased transparency in the Bill’s development process. Decisions on whether and how to progress the potential LDAN Bill, and its individual proposals, will rest with a new government following the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. Should the next government decide to continue the Bill’s development, the next phase would require to build on what is set out in this paper to better understand and assess the potential costs, benefits, impacts and implementation options, in order to ensure that any potential LDAN Bill delivers meaningful, sustainable and lasting change and to enable parliamentary scrutiny of the proposals.

The potential costs and benefits considerations may therefore change as the proposals themselves are further refined or changed as a result of decisions taken by the next government, should it decide to continue the Bill’s development.

Current proposals for the LDAN Bill aim to ensure that the rights of neurodivergent people and people with learning disabilities are better respected, protected and championed. This is in recognition of the poorer outcomes experienced by these groups of people. As such, the proposed Bill intends to improve peoples’ experiences of public services in a number of ways, including:

• by focusing on mandatory strategic national and local planning;
• creating a better informed workforce;
• providing opportunities for improving service design and delivery by better collection and use of data;
• advocacy to ensure that people are better supported to access services and exercise their rights; and,
• an underpinning accountability mechanism.

It is important to acknowledge that the ambitions and potential of the proposed Bill have to be considered in the context of the wider fiscal pressures faced by the public sector. The fiscal environment is challenging and is forecast to remain so for the foreseeable future. An ageing population and strong global economic headwinds mean that our public services have to meet growing demand while facing increasingly challenging financial constraints. The Scottish Government has been clear on the extent of the challenges faced, with successive budgets and medium‑term financial strategies highlighting the choices and trade‑offs necessary to deliver a balanced and sustainable position.

Our current proposals are intended to support public bodies to provide services to neurodivergent people and people with learning disabilities and their families and carers at the right time in a potentially more effective manner. This, over time, could contribute to reduced costs and a more informed and preventative approach to service delivery. However, we acknowledge that this may come at an upfront cost at a time when there is already increased demand on public services. As the proposals are further developed, we will continue working with key delivery partners to ensure that the proposed LDAN Bill could be sustainably implemented and its benefits realised.

Summary of proposals in the Bill

The key LDAN Bill proposals include the following:

• Reach and definitions: introduce a statutory definition of ‘neurodivergence’ in Scots law which describes the groups of people within the Bill’s reach.
• Strategic planning: introduce a duty to publish a national neurodivergence and learning disabilities strategy as well as local delivery plans.
• Mandatory training: introduce a duty requiring mandatory training for relevant staff in key public bodies, including at least health, social care and justice services.
• Data improvements: introduce a regulation-making power to enhance data collection to improve service and policy design and delivery, to support better outcomes.
• Advocacy and support: ensure a broad right of access to advocacy for everyone within the Bill’s reach.
• Enhanced accountability: a policy position on accountability is not yet settled due to broader contexts.
• Complex care and delayed discharge: place the existing local Dynamic Support Registers on a statutory footing and introduce a new national oversight panel.
• Identification of communication support needs within justice settings: introduce a duty on justice agencies to seek to identify communication support needs that may be the result of neurodivergence or a learning disability.

Scope

It is important to note that this paper is limited in scope to considerations of the costs and benefits that could directly result from the proposals for the potential LDAN Bill. Complementary non-legislative proposals that are currently being implemented, or could be taken forward, are therefore not addressed in this document.

Summary of costs, savings and benefits

Given the proposed Bill’s overall aim, it is intended to support preventative investment, leading to better outcomes and greater efficiency over time. We would expect the benefits to be wide-ranging: improving inequalities, life chances, economic inclusion of individuals as well as their families and carers, wider economic benefits, and efficiencies and cost savings to services. However, the extent of these impacts is difficult to gauge fully at this point in the Bill’s development process and will require further development.

The Bill’s current proposals align with the aims of Scotland's Population Health Framework, which calls for sustained, cross-sector action to tackle entrenched health inequalities, and the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework, which places a strong emphasis on preventative action aiming to shift the health and social care system toward proactive early intervention and better population health outcomes. The Bill’s current proposals similarly aim to embed prevention and early action, for example through statutory planning, data collection, and improved workforce awareness and understanding, helping services to recognise and respond to needs before they escalate into crisis situations.

The Bill’s proposals provide an opportunity to empower people, their families and carers by: supporting individuals and services to have a better understanding of the rights of neurodivergent people and people with learning disabilities; supporting rights to be better upheld; and, improving accountability. Proposals supporting increased access to and inclusion within communities could benefit people, their families and carers and contribute to improved physical and mental health.

A better understanding of the needs of neurodivergent people and people with learning disabilities could enable reduced cost of service provision if those needs are met better and earlier. The proposals are therefore also intended to improve public services, for example through better knowledge and understanding of neurodivergence and learning disabilities across the public sector workforce and as a result of improved and more consistent service design informed by improved evidence and data.

It is also intended that the Bill’s proposals would contribute to bringing about a cultural shift to reduce stigma and create a society where being neurodivergent or having a learning disability is as accepted as being neurotypical. It is anticipated that there would be savings as a result of this, however, it may be difficult to fully quantify those savings.