Scottish Labour MSP Daniel Johnson has called on the Scottish Government to find the funding needed to save the Sleep Support Line, a specialist national service for families that is due to close next year.
In a Holyrood motion lodged on Friday 23 October, the Edinburgh Southern MSP says the line has helped more than 5,000 families across Scotland since 2018, and warns that its closure would mean the loss of specialist support for families across the country.
A deadline in the Budget
The motion calls on ministers to identify and secure the funding necessary to keep the service running, and to use the Scottish Budget on 3 December as the opportunity to provide the money needed to secure its future.
It has cross-party backing from Labour MSP Paul Sweeney, Conservative MSP Miles Briggs and Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur.
Waiting list at record levels
Sleep Action, the charity that runs the line, announced earlier this month that the service would close at the end of March 2027 because of ongoing funding challenges, and that it had stopped accepting new referrals. The charity said the decision was not down to falling demand or effectiveness, with its waiting list at record levels.
The service supports families facing complex challenges including autism, ADHD, poverty, trauma, domestic abuse, school disengagement and parental mental health difficulties. The charity has encouraged families and professionals to contact their MSPs to explain why specialist sleep support matters.
The Scottish Government has not yet committed the funding the motion calls for.
