Working together towards a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: Partial Equality Impact Assessment

Recommendations and conclusion

The EQIA concludes that the LDAN Bill proposals could have a positive overall impact on equality and human rights. It could promote more equitable access to services, improve workforce understanding, and strengthen accountability across public bodies.

Evidence highlights a range of issues and persistent barriers experienced by neurodivergent people and people with learning disabilities across their lives. These issues relate to how services are designed and delivered and provide context for considering how the proposals in the Bill may interact with equality impacts for this group.

The Bill focuses on a specific group of disabled people. As policy development continues, it will be important to consider any potential implications for other disabled groups, including issues of parity and proportionality. The Scottish Government continues to apply existing equality duties across all disability groups, and consideration of wider impacts will form part of the ongoing equality assessment as proposals are further developed.

Equality considerations across all protected characteristics are being built into the Bill’s design and will continue should a future government decide to continue to develop proposals for the LDAN Bill. Potential future development of the LDAN Bill could consider:

• consistent inclusion of all relevant disability and neurodivergent groups;
• embedding intersectional data standards and analysis;
• ensuring mandatory training reflects diverse lived experiences;
• strengthening co-production in the development of a statutory strategy; and,
• maintaining a focus on continuous improvement and transparency.

The Scottish Government could monitor progress through statutory strategies, local delivery plans, their annual reports and evaluations, research, equality data reporting, and ongoing engagement with representative organisations. Review points could be aligned with implementation milestones to ensure that equality outcomes are tracked, and action can be taken where disparities persist.

Disability Equality Scotland explains: “At all stages we want a Bill and an Act which is co-designed by disabled people, for disabled people, and that achieves equity and equality for everyone covered by the LDAN Bill.”

The LDAN Bill proposals could represent a meaningful step toward a fairer Scotland: one in which neurodivergent people and people with learning disabilities can expect recognition, respect, and equitable access to the rights and opportunities that enable a good life. Further assessment of impacts and proportionality will be undertaken as policy development progresses.