A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: delivery plan

Shaping the Plan

The ambitions we all have for a future fairer Scotland need us to work together - public, private and third sectors with disabled people and the organisations that represent them and communities.

Across the Scottish Government, we are committed to strengthening relationships with Disabled People's Organisations ( DPOs) and a range of delivery partners. We will work collaboratively with them to advance disability equality.

COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) has been a close partner in the work around independent living for disabled people.

We welcomed their delivery plan on disability published in response to the UNCRPD in December 2015.

We are determined to be the most open and accessible government Scotland has ever had. We worked to ensure that the consultation on the draft plan, launched in September 2015, reached those who do not normally engage with government or whose voices are seldom heard. We provided funding to DPOs to engage with disabled people across Scotland about this Plan and we have used their feedback to strengthen it.

The five ambitions draw on early work around the outcomes and Our Shared Vision for Independent Living in Scotland that was jointly developed with disabled people and the organisations that represent them, COSLA and NHSScotland.

Disabled people are the experts on what needs to change. It is important that relationships are built between those who design and deliver policies and services and the people who will experience those policies and services. We know that by involving disabled people and drawing on their experience, insight and skills, policies and services can be more responsive and better able to meet people's needs. In the consultation on the draft delivery plan, we were keen to find out the views of disabled people on areas where poor service design and delivery were having a negative impact on their lives so that we could make important changes. DPOs which are run by disabled people, with disabled people and for disabled people, helped us to gather these views and the feedback has also helped to inform this Plan.

From our dialogue with disabled people and organisations that represent them it is clear that there is strong support for efforts to achieve a fairer Scotland. They have told us that whilst there is a need to identify specific actions and initiatives to support and remove the barriers that disabled people confront, it is crucial that disability equality runs throughout the Fairer Scotland Action Plan and all other strategies designed to advance fairness, equality and human rights. We agree with that. These Plans are aligned and we will work to ensure that they remain so in delivery. We will work with disabled people and the organisations that represent them to ensure that we measure our progress in a way that they can hold us properly to account, throughout the lifetime of this Plan.

'It is essential that we maintain our focus on the rights of disabled people and what we can proactively do to realise those rights in this context. It is also essential that we work closely with disabled people and Disabled People's Organisations to empower them to help shape these decisions and reshape our services to better meet people's needs and improve outcomes.'

Cllr Peter Johnston
COSLA Spokesperson for
Health and Wellbeing

'It is vital that action to make disabled people's human rights a reality is led by us, disabled people ourselves. Only we know first-hand what needs to be done.'

Dr Sally Witcher OBE
Chief Executive, Inclusion Scotland