Scotland's Wellbeing: national outcomes for disabled people

Conclusion 

This report has provided a picture of life in Scotland for a disabled person across the 11 outcomes of the NPF. It has shown that many aspects of the NPF outcomes and indicators do not relate to individuals and therefore do not relate to protected characteristics in a straightforward manner. It has also explained that there are many indicators still under development from which the provision of protected characteristic breakdowns will be a key consideration. But, there are also several existing indicators for which breakdowns by disability are not presently available.  For these areas additional indicators have been included in the report. Annex A sets out the range of outcomes and indicators in the NPF and annotates whether data is relevant and/or available for disabled people. 

As the report shows, for the outcomes for which we have data, a considerable number of indicators suggest that disabled people face barriers in fully participating in Scottish society.  

The ‘A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People – action plan’ published in 2016 was shaped by the experiences and insights of disabled people and the organisations that represent them. It was built around five longer-term ambitions:

• Support services that meet people’s needs
• Decent incomes and fairer working lives
• Places that are accessible to everyone
• Protected rights
• Active participation

There is substantial read across between the outcomes and indicators in the NPF, including the additional indicators presented here, and the five ambitions set out with disabled people in the Fairer Scotland for Disabled People action plan. In this NPF baseline report, additional indicators have been identified to help describe some key aspects of performance for disabled people but there are still some gaps in the evidence base from data and statistics. In addition, in order to pick up all aspects of the 5 key ambitions, the NPF indicators may need to be supplemented with further indicators, particularly around accessible places and services, in order to understand progress. 

Analysts in the government will continue to mine data wherever possible and the increased use of administrative data should help in this regard. However, there will also be aspects of outcome performance that can best be understood by qualitative research or by engaging with disability stakeholders and disabled people. The progress of actions and the evaluation of ‘A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People’ including the major summit in 2020 will provide good opportunities for this conversation to continue.