The Down Syndrome Act 2022 is a law that means the government has to write clear guidance for public services like health, social care, and education on how to meet the specific needs of people with Down syndrome in England.
The Down Syndrome Association estimates there are 40,000 people with Down syndrome in the UK.
The government has now launched a draft of this statutory guidance and a public consultation to get feedback.
You can read the draft guidance here.
Individuals and organisations can find out about how to respond to the consultation here.
Easy read versions of the guidance and survey are here.
The consultation will run for twelve weeks, closing on the 28th of January 2026.
Once this guidance is finalised, public services must seriously consider and follow it when planning and providing support.
As the legislation is so important to lots of members, Learning Disability England has been working to communicate members views to the government at each stage leading up to now.
Members first worked to give their feedback and concerns to the government before the Bill became law in 2022.
Read what members said and did here.
Learning Disability England members then fed into a joint response to the guidance call for evidence.
You can remind yourself of what members said here.
Members clearly stated that they do not want to see anyone disadvantaged through the implementation of the Act.
Learning Disability England wants to know what members think of the statutory guidance, now it has been drafted.
Learning Disability England is here to support members to share what they think and gather the collective feedback.
You can join a meeting for members on the 11th of December 2025 to talk through the guidance and share your views.
Sign up to attend the meeting here.
There will also be a survey sent out soon to gather any feedback you have.