A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: summary

Ministerial foreword

Over a million disabled people contribute to Scotland's communities and add talent, diversity and richness to our society. Yet so many people are still unable to make their contribution or live their lives as they would want because of the barriers in their way. Our homes, our transport, our workplaces, our public services and our local environments often exclude disabled people. Inaccessible communication, negative attitudes, low expectations, discrimination and inequality impact in ways which interact and affect the chances of disabled people - even to have social connections and human interaction. This can lead to isolation and loneliness.

So our job is to work together to remove those barriers. That is what this Delivery Plan is focused on doing. A fairer Scotland can only be realised when we secure equal rights for everyone.

We have high ambitions for the changes we believe are necessary. We are not starting from scratch, but we need to increase the pace and depth of change if there is to be a real transformation in the lives and experiences of disabled people. But we also know that the scale and extent of change necessary for real transformation in the experiences of disabled people will take action over this Parliamentary term and beyond.

Working with disabled people and the organisations that represent them, we have identified the specific actions we will take over the next five years to make significant progress towards the five longer-term ambitions.

The direct involvement of disabled people is essential as we implement these changes and we will continue our strong collaboration with early engagement around priorities and timing. As the First Minister said, 'we need to redouble our efforts to tackle inequality head-on, and ensure everyone has the chance to realise his or her full potential.'

Jeane Freeman,
Minister for Social Security