The Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD) has today announced that the former Children and Young People’s Commissioner of Scotland, Bruce Adamson, has been appointed as its new Chief Executive. Bruce Adamson is an internationally recognised human rights lawyer with 30 years’ experience working with communities in over 20 countries to advance legal and policy reform. He brings …
Leading The Change: How women with learning disabilities are shaping systems in gender-based violence Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate progress, honour resilience, and confront the injustices that continue to shape women’s lives. One of the most overlooked of these injustices sits at the intersection of gender‑based violence and learning disabilities. When we talk about violence against women, …
SCLD has launched a new 12 Point Plan for Change setting out key priorities for the next Scottish Government. The plan has been shaped by the voices and experiences of people with learning disabilities and has support from 18 of our partner organisations across the third sector. As a central priority, the plan asks the next Scottish Government to bring forward an LDAN Bill. The LDAN Bill represents a critical opportunity to address the systemic inequalities and barriers that …
SCLD welcomes the publication of the Scottish Government’s new Coming Home Action Plan and the announcement of a £20 million funding commitment to support implementation. The new plan seeks to address the outstanding recommendations from the Coming Home Implementation Report, and identifies further actions to greatly reduce inappropriate out-of-area placements and delayed discharges for people with learning disabilities and complex needs. The plan recognises that despite significant effort and commitment, at all levels, the number of people in inappropriate settings has not been reduced in line …
The Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD) has welcomed the Scottish Government’s publication of the draft policy provisions for the proposed Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill (the LDAN Bill). Lorne Berkley, SCLD’s Strategic Lead: Policy and Rights, said: “We are pleased the Government has published the draft provisions ahead of the Parliamentary Elections in May. This is …
SCLD met Euan’s Guide, the website where disabled people review accessible places, and the message was clear: your experience can help others feel confident to explore new places. It only takes a few minutes to write a review, but it can make a big difference. Read more to hear about the Expert Group members experiences in writing reviews so you …
The Scottish Government has a plan for a new law they think will make life better for people with learning disabilities, this will be called the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill. We will call this the LDAN Bill for short. SCLD believes that the Bill could make a big difference to the lives of people with learning disabilities in …
A blog by Sarah D’Agrosa As part of the Lived Experience Board’s ongoing work on the Human Rights Bill process, the board met via Zoom with members of the Scottish Government Human Rights Bill team. Despite a busy diary, 6 members of the team from various departments made time to meet with members of the board. The Lived Experience Board …
Last year People First (Scotland)’s Equally Safe Group and SCLD co-designed and delivered Power Women, a pioneering leadership course led by women with learning disabilities, for self-identifying women with learning disabilities who have experienced gender-based violence in Scotland. This powerful example of women with learning disabilities empowering their peers to make Scotland a better place for women and girls with …
The first national publication of data from Dynamic Support Registers for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs has been published by Public Health Scotland. The Dynamic Support Register was launched in May 2023, as one of the key recommendations from the Coming Home Implementation report. The Coming Home Implementation report set an ambitious mission of reducing delayed discharge …
