Disabled young people: National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy Strategic Working Group minutes - September 2024

Attendees and apologies

Alison Hunter, NHS Lothian, representing adulthealth

Beth Kirby, Scottish Government

Clair Bannister, Universities Scotland

Claire Vekic, Colleges Scotland

Elizabeth McBride, Promoting a More Inclusive Society (PAMIS)​

Gemma Richardson, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Iain Wilson, ILF Scotland

Ian Bruce, Skills Development Scotland

James Fletcher, ARC Scotland

John Urquhart, COSLA

Marianne Scobie, Glasgow Disability Alliance

Mark Smith, Social Work Scotland

Paul Beaton, Scottish Government

Sarah Lawson, Scottish Government

Scott Read, ARC Scotland

Tracey Francis, ARC Scotland

Una McFadyen, Children with Exceptional Healthcare Needs specialist, independent member

Apologies

Anne-Marie Sturrock, Borders College - representing College Practitioners

Dr Edwin Jesudason, NHS Lothian  - representing adult health

Eilidh Fulton, Scottish Funding Council

Jenny Miller, Promoting a More Inclusive Society (PAMIS)​

Neil Gibson, Social Work Scotland

Rachel Bell,  Scottish Government

Rob Gowans, The ALLIANCE

Items and actions

Welcome and review of previous meeting minutes and actions

PB welcomed attendees and noted apologies.

PB outlined the previous meeting’s actions. The meeting agenda and outcomes were shared:

• agree the revised vision statement
• consider impact assessments

Group updates

SL confirmed Ministerial agreement to the Group’s reflections at the last meeting on the timeline for publishing the strategy and invited further group updates:

• IW highlighted that the Independent Living Scotland Transition Fund will have given out £20million of funding since its opening to around 10,000+ applicants.
• JF announced that ARC Scotland will be publishing a report on Compass data in the coming week, and requested that group members share with wider networks.
• EM noted PAMIS have secured funding for a transitions project.

Final review of vision statement

SL recapped on the development of the vision statement and feedback received during engagement on the Statement of Intent. Revisions, based on this feedback, were shared. Further group suggestions included:

• MS suggested use of  “young disabled person”
• inconsistent views on greater reference to families within the vision statement
• JF and MS requested “information” be included in the final paragraph
• IB requested “planning should be person-centred with the right people/parties involved”
• UM suggested use of the word “families” over “parent/carers”
• more broadly, SRR suggested it would be useful to include a terminology section in the strategy.

Consideration of impact assessments

SL invited the Group’s reflections on the Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) and Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA), which will be published alongside the strategy. These impact assessments are developed alongside the strategy in order to assess the impact of our policies on the key groups that the strategy wishes to support, and to consider and mitigate any unwanted or unintended consequences proactively.

In respect of the CRWIA, suggestions included:

• UM suggested accessible versions for the impact assessments.
• MS and UM requested we strengthen the language on “how” in article 13 (e.g. instead of “encourages”, use “expects” or “requires”)
• UM suggested including employment law under article 42

Members then considered the wellbeing indicators which include safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and, included:

• UM & GR suggested adding “holistic” to healthcare aim
• IB suggested strengthening the response in how the actions will ensure disabled young people feel “included”.

In respect of the EQIA, suggestions included:

• members discussed sources of measurement data for transition

Members suggested also considering the impact of the strategy on:

• looked after children, or care experienced children
• refugee children

Next steps, any other business and close

PB thanked the group for their work so far and confirmed that the group has no further scheduled meetings at present. Contributions to iterations of the strategy, following completion of the engagement analysis, will be invited via email and Objective Connect.

PB invited group members to consider providing:

• their logos for inclusion in the final published strategy
• young people’s artwork and other media to help illustrate the final published strategy

PB asked members to consider options for the lifespan of the strategy, to allow for sufficient implementation time, and time for review:

• JF commented that an implementation plan, and for a timeline for achieving the goals, as well as measurement, will be necessary to determine this.
• IW highlighted that in other projects, three years provided enough data and time to measure.
• UM asked if we could consider aligning with the UNCRC implementation plan.
• members of the group discussed a 3-4 year timeline to reflect the above.

PB updated the group that BK will be on maternity leave for the next year, then closed the meeting.

Actions:

• members to engage with ARC Scotland’s Compass report posts on social media, and share with appropriate groups
• members to share any further reflections on the EQIA and CRWIA
• members to provide artwork, images and clips to illustrate the published strategy
• members to provide written feedback on the draft strategy once issued