Question reference: S5W-22653
- Asked by: Angela Constance, MSP for Almond Valley, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 16 April 2019
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Current status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 2 May 2019
Question
To ask Scottish Government for what reason it stopped funding the network of One Stop Shops for autistic people and their families; what its position is on reports that local authorities have not prioritised funding for these, and whether it will consider reintroducing funding for such a network.
Answer
The Scottish Government has set out its commitment to autistic people and their families through the Scottish Strategy for Autism. In 2012, as part of this strategy, the Scottish Government provided funding to the three national autism charities to work jointly to deliver six one-stop shops in Scotland and develop local support services for people with autism.
Each One Stop Shop (OSS) was set up with seed funding from the Scottish Government. The expectation was that One Stop Shops would be sustainable in each locality by the end of government funding.
Strategy funding was intended to encourage the development of innovative services in localities and is not a source of funding for core local services, which are the responsibility of Health and Social Care Partnerships (H&SCP). They determine the services that are required to meet local needs.
It is regrettable that the valued One Stop Shops have not been sustained in all the localities where they were piloted or replicated in other localities with H&SCP funding. However, the Scottish Government respects that local services are the responsibility of Integration Joint Boards, who are aiming to deliver better care for people by making better use of the significant resources we invest in health and social care services. Their strategic commissioning approach ensures that partnerships must work with local communities, including families, and listen to their views and opinions as they seek to improve the quality and sustainability of services in their area.
In South Lanarkshire they have developed an Autism Resource Coordination Hub. It is a ‘hub’ for all autism services and support groups within South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership area. Whilst we welcome the continued funding of current OSS and the development of further OSS or Autism Hubs, we respect that this is a matter for individual Integration Joint Boards.