Working together towards a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: partial equality impact assessment

Scope

This partial EQIA is based on current proposals for the LDAN Bill. The Scottish Government is committed to continuous assessment of the impacts on equality that this proposed Bill could have and therefore any future changes to the contents would be reflected in a future assessment.

As explained in the main publication setting out the current proposals for potential Bill provisions, a future government will make final decisions regarding the proposed LDAN Bill and its content, following the upcoming Scottish Parliament election. As such, we set out in this paper some of the considerations of the potential equality impacts associated with the potential Bill, based on current proposals for its potential provisions, with the recognition that these may change if proposals are changed or further developed as a result of any decisions made by a future government. However, we believe taking the opportunity to set out a partial EQIA now helps to contribute to a more rounded understanding of the proposals and could help to support further discussions and engagement by the next government if it decides to continue the Bill’s development.

This paper provides a high-level summary of the assessment findings. It is intended as an overview and does not include all the evidence considered, nor does it represent the full detail of the assessment.

The LDAN Bill proposals could have a broadly positive impact on equality outcomes across all protected characteristics. It promotes fairer access to services, more consistent recognition of people's needs, and improved data and reporting across public organisations. The main equality risks relate to ensuring that delivery is inclusive of all relevant groups and consistently applied across Scotland.

The partial EQIA assessed the impact of the Bill across all protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. It also considered intersectional factors and overlapping barriers.

The EQIA analysis was structured around the three needs of the Public Sector Equality Duty: eliminating discrimination, harassment, and victimisation; advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations among and between people with different characteristics.

Intersectionality was considered throughout the assessment, with particular attention to how the Bill’s proposals could help identify and address compounded disadvantage across protected groups.