Scottish Autism’s Chief Executive, Dorry McLaughlin, has given her response to the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, which was launched yesterday and provides details of the legislation to be introduced across 2022-23. 

“The Programme for Government saw Nicola Sturgeon outline a number of new pieces of legislation which will be introduced in the 2022-23 session of the Scottish Parliament. 

“Scottish Autism will be interested to see the proposed content of bills around Education Reform, Criminal Justice Reform and Children’s Care & Justice. It is vital that these important pieces of legislation capture and recognise the experience of autistic individuals and their interactions with these services. Scottish Autism will stand ready to amplify the voices of the autistic community within these deliberations. 

“There was also an announcement around a Charities Regulation Bill, which we will pay close attention to as Scotland’s largest autism-specific charity. 

“Meanwhile, the National Care Service Bill continues to be scrutinised, and we are actively engaged in this process as a member of the Coalition of Care Providers Scotland. We are also continuing to engage with Scottish Government officials as they prepare the Learning Disability, Autism & Neurodiversity Bill for introduction in a future session, which will deliver on our joint campaign for a commissioner with our partners at NAS and Enable. 

“Through our continued engagement with Scotland’s policy makers we will advocate for positive change on behalf of the autistic community.”