New Advice To Help Disabled
Recommendations for delivering greater equality for disabled people were published today. The Disability Working Group’s report made 48 recommendations, providing the Executive, local authorities, employers, educators, community care providers and others with suggested approaches to change their actions and attitudes.
Four areas were particularly scrutinised:
- Employment
- Public sector duty to promote disability equality, mainstreaming disability equality, corporate responsibility and engaging public authorities
- Consultation, communication, education and training, citizenship and pubic attitudes
- Social inclusion; poverty; independent living; direct payments; care and support services
Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm said: “This report and our response outline a new way forward to re-affirm our commitment to improve the lives of disabled people in Scotland. One in five people in Scotland is disabled. It is completely unacceptable that a fifth of our population can be denied the same opportunities as the rest. We all suffer if everyone of us is not able to play our part in our society.
“While not all the recommendations from the Group are for the Executive solely, we must play our part in setting and leading the agenda. I am pleased that for our part we are able to accept many of these wide-ranging recommendations and, using new investment of £1million in the immediate term, we will be working on these with disabled people to secure a fairer future. This has been a very comprehensive, important piece of work and I would like to thank all those involved in considering and presenting possible solutions to issues which must be addressed.”
Scottish Ministers agreed to establish a strategic Disability Working Group after the European Year of Disabled People (EYDP) in 2003, to build on the achievements of EYDP and help the Executive prioritise its disability equality work. The remit of the Group was to ‘establish priorities for the Scottish Executive and partner organisations to promote equality for disabled people in Scotland; and to develop proposals on longer term mechanisms for engagement with the disability sector.’
Bill Campbell who represented Inclusion Scotland on the Strategic Disability Working Group, said: “The Group’s recommendations provide both an agenda for immediate action and platform for the future. The process has drawn on the expertise of a variety of disability organisations, but there are many other organisations and many disabled people with views which still need to be heard. New issues will no doubt emerge and new recommendations will need to be made.
“Therefore, we hope the outcomes from the report are monitored regularly and that the positive dialogue between the Executive and the disability sector continues to improve the lives of disabled people in Scotland.”
Adam Gaines, Scottish Director of the Disability Rights Commission, said: “It is important that the views and needs of Scotland’s one million disabled people are central to government policies and practices. The Disability Working Group report is aimed at offering constructive proposals for mainstreaming opportunities for and the inclusion of disabled people in Scotland in areas ranging from employment to improved access to services.
“The creation of the Working Group has been a very positive step and we believe the implementation of the recommendations in the report will be useful in the taking forward of greater opportunities and participation of disabled people. The DRC looks forward to continuing to work with the Scottish Executive to advance disabled people’s rights and create equal citizenship in Scotland”
