Dear John Swinney MSP,

We are writing to you in an effort to save the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill.

For five years, our communities have engaged with the Scottish Government in good faith. We have attended consultations, participated in advisory panels and shared deeply personal experiences of the ways in which our society continues to fail neurodivergent people.

We did so because we believed it would lead to meaningful change.

The proposed Bill sought to address that through measures including mandatory training, better data collection, improved access to independent advocacy, statutory national and local planning, and greater oversight and scrutiny.

These measures matter because the status quo is not working.

We continue to experience unacceptable inequalities across healthcare, education, employment, social care and the criminal justice system. Too many fall through gaps between services, struggle to access appropriate care and support, and have their access to life dictated to them by a system that works against them at every turn.

We have endured endless strategies, action plans, consultations and broken promises. What we need is accountability when those promises are not delivered.

We reject the premise that we must choose between legislation and targeted intervention. It is a false choice. There is nothing to prevent the Scottish Government from improving services, investing in support and working to create immediate change while simultaneously legislating to ensure lasting accountability.

Indeed, after five years spent developing this Bill, the time for this conversation has long expired. With draft provisions already published, much of the work has already been undertaken.

Legislation alone will not solve every problem our communities face. We need investment, better services, earlier intervention and cultural change too. But goodwill is not accountability.

We trusted the Scottish Government with some of the most painful experiences of our lives because we believed that sharing them would prevent others from experiencing the same failures. We are asking you not to abandon the commitment you made to us.

Reverse this decision, bring forward the LDAN Bill and work with us to deliver the rights, support and accountability we were promised.

Yours sincerely,

Kelly Given

Columnist and Autistic Rights Activist