The Scottish Parliament has backed calls for the Scottish Government to reintroduce a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill, after ministers dropped plans for the legislation in September. Independent advocacy took a central place in the debate, with MSPs arguing that a statutory right to independent advocacy would have been one of the bill’s most important contributions.
MSPs supported a Scottish Liberal Democrats motion calling on the Government to bring the Bill forward, alongside a Scottish Labour amendment recognising the contribution made by people with lived experience during its development and calling for urgent action to improve support. The debate, led by Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP, took place on 28 October. During the debate, the Scottish Government put forward its own amendment which argued that urgent action was needed through policy reform, service improvement and targeted investment rather than legislation. This amendment was rejected by MSPs 60 votes to 54.
The proposed LDAN legislation had been intended to strengthen accountability, data collection and independent advocacy, as well as improve outcomes across health, education, employment and public services. The Government had committed to it in 2021 and consulted on it for five years, receiving almost 900 responses to its public consultation before announcing in September that the Bill would be scrapped.
Independent advocacy in the debate
Speaking during the debate, Adam Harley MSP said: “Rights that exist on paper but cannot be exercised in practice are not rights at all. One of the bill’s most important contributions could have been the creation of a right to independent advocacy, which is the best safeguard that we can offer people with vulnerabilities to ensure that their views are always heard, their rights are respected and they can challenge decisions that are made about their lives.”
He argued that dropping the legislation was also “incredibly short-sighted in the context of public service reform”, pointing to research funded by the Henry Smith Charity and carried out by Social Finance, which found that every £1 invested in independent advocacy generated around £12 in savings across health and social care – approximately £7 to the NHS and £5 to local authorities.
The same point was made about accountability. “If there is no right to advocacy or to extend the provisions that are in place, people in the community will have no ability to hold the Government or services to account to ensure that their rights are realised,” Mr Harley said.
He told MSPs that people with learning disabilities, autistic people and neurodivergent people “should not have to fight endlessly to have their rights realised. Those rights already belong to them. It is our job to make them a reality.”
For the independent advocacy sector, the debate confirmed that a statutory right to advocacy is understood by MSPs as a key mechanism in safeguarding rights rather than an optional add-on. Independent advocacy helps people understand their options, have their views heard in decisions about their care and support, and challenge decisions made about their lives.
The Parliament has now called on the Scottish Government to introduce an LDAN Bill. The Government has said legislation remains an option in this session but has not committed to a timetable. SIAA will continue to make the case that a right to independent advocacy must be part of any future legislation, and that independent advocacy needs sustainable funding through public service reform. SIAA will work with MSPs across parties, the Scottish Government and partner organisations as the campaign to reinstate the bill continues.
Read the Social Finance report, Independent advocacy for independent lives.
