Responses to Our Call for Action on ASN Funding and Support

Since early 2023, we have repeatedly sought support from the Scottish Government to sustain and develop our volunteer-run service - which has been operating beyond capacity for over four years. Despite continued engagement, no sustainable funding or delivery model has yet been identified.

The service continues to operate with no staff, no fixed premises, no storage facilities or core funding. We continue to deliver frontline sessions and opportunities for hundreds of children entirely through volunteer effort and parental donations. Demand from families -and referrals from public services - continues to increase. In response to this ongoing pressure, we issued a letter to all political parties and candidates outlining the current challenges and inviting their view on improving outcomes for children with ASN.

We are publishing the responses received in full below for transparency to allow readers to understand the range of views expressed. 

(Please click on link to view the response)

• Advance UK — Sarah Hashim
  
• Independence for Scotland Party — Allan Petrie
  
• Reform UK — John Crawley
  
• Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party — Stewart Whyte
  
• Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party — Alexander Burnett
  
• Scottish National Party (SNP) — Jack Middleton
  
• Scottish National Party (SNP) — Fatima Joji
• Scottish Green Party — Charlotte Horne
• Scottish Green Party — Maggie Chapman
  
• Scottish Labour Party — Matthew Lee
  
• Scottish Labour Party - Simon Watson
• Independent — Marie Boulton
  
• Independent — Iris Alexandra Leask

All parties and candidates have been given the opportunity to respond; this page will be updated as their replies are received.

The inclusion of any party or individual does not constitute endorsement by our organisation and responses are shared for information purposes only.