Publication by the UK Government on Tuesday of the Bubb report into progress with the ending of institutional care in England following the Winterbourne scandal is of interest to many people in Scotland.

Its report that in England more people with learning disabilities are entering hospital and other forms of institutional care than are leaving is worrying. In the year to September, 923 people were discharged but a further 1,306 were admitted.

Norman Lamb MP, the UK minister responsible, has said the problem is that local authority provision for people living independently is falling behind. But he insisted that money was not the problem, after all these places were funded by the NHS - surely the money could be used better in the community.

Scotland is not unique in this. Hundreds of people with learning disabilities are still in institutional care north of the border and many more travel south to hospital and other services in England.

But a new development worries us considerably. This month one major Scottish council has announced its plan to commission a special unit dedicated to the care and accommodation of 20 adults with learning disabilities, staffed on a 24- hour basis. It is likely that the new unit will open in just six weeks and will be simply an underused wing of an existing care home.

This is going back to the type of services that were provided in the old long stay hospitals that plagued Scotland just 30 years ago - segregated units that keep people with learning disabilities out of community settings.

Until a few years ago, Scotland was leading the way in helping its most vulnerable citizens. If the new SNP administration of Nicola Sturgeon is really to be a government of the people, it cannot forget about these most vulnerable citizens. This is not just a "matter for local councils." This is a matter for us all.

Ian Hood, Coordinator,

Learning Disability Alliance Scotland,

5 Rose Street, Edinburgh.