Question reference: S6W-01724
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 21 July 2021
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Current status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 August 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the third sector in the last year regarding support for autism services, and who is responsible for decisions on this matter.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to be committed to improving the lives of autistic people in Scotland. We work closely with autism organisations in the third sector and the public sector and actively seek the views of people with lived experience on autism services. This is reflected in our “Towards Transformation” plan and in specific pieces of nationally funded work, such as the National Post Diagnostic Support pilot for Autistic People.
While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for the regional health & social care partnerships to determine the level of services that are required to meet local needs and to arrange an appropriate and suitable range of services to meet these local needs, as mandated under statute in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act.
Local Authorities are distinct corporate bodies whose powers are set out in statute and as such are entirely separate from the Scottish Government, however it is also the expectation of the Scottish Government that Local Public Bodies will engage with the third sector regarding local autism services.