Fairer Scotland for disabled people: progress report

Impact of COVID-19 on Disabled People

Whilst the NPF report enables us to track on-going progress towards equality, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused new and exacerbated issues for disabled people. Throughout 2020 and into 2021, a wide range of organisations have been working closely with their membership and the public to understand the impact that the pandemic, and the restrictions that have been implemented, have had on disabled people. Scottish Government has produced and published an analytical paper which provides data on the impact of COVID-19 on disabled people from national research and surveys, research and intelligence gathering by Disabled People's Organisations to give a more complete understanding of the impact on individuals.

This research material in the analytical paper has supported and influenced the work that Scottish Government has done, enabling the response to the pandemic to be adjusted where possible to minimise harms and difficulties for disabled people whilst still maintaining its key aim of protecting life. 

We will draw from this work, as well as the wider work on disability equality as we consider next steps in the next Parliament.