What is eSAY?

 eSAY is run by the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability. It came from the recommendations of “The same as you?” and is funded by the Scottish Government. It has been running since 2003.

Every year, all local authorities in Scotland collect information on the numbers of people with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders in their area and send this information to the eSAY Team. Information is collected on everyone who is known to the local authority - not just the people who are using services. The information we collect is anonymous. This means that we don't collect any personal information like names or addresses and no one will be able to identify someone by looking at the statistics.

What does eSAY aim to do?

• eSAY aims to make sure everyone records and measures information in the same way. We have developed a set of data standards that are used by local authorities and health boards when they are collecting this information.
• The information collected using the data standards is used to write a report every year that tells everyone about the numbers of people with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders in Scotland.
• We think that information about the numbers of people with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders living in Scotland is really important. Knowing the numbers of people who are in each area and what services they are using means that future planning can be better.

What information does eSAY collect?

The data standards is a very big document and can be used to collect lots of information. eSAY doesn't collect all of this information but what it does collect can change slightly every year.

To find out the information eSAY collected for 2010, go here.

How does this help me?

By making sure that everyone records and measures information in the same way we are able to see a clear picture of what is happening in an area. This means people can see what is happening in their local area as well as what is happening nationally.

This allows health and social care agencies in each area to get a better picture of the needs of the people with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders who live there. This means that services can be better planned to meet the needs of those who use them or might need to use them in the future.