Fairness and dignity for disabled people
One in five people are disabled.
Disabled people face higher rates of poverty, lower chances of securing a well-paid job, barriers to essential services, and even barriers to an accessible home and transport – things which other people take for granted. This is unacceptable.
We commit to incorporate the UN Convention of the Rights of Disabled People into Scots Law. We will take steps to reduce the disability employment gap, with the public sector leading by example, and ensure private and public spaces are designed to be accessible as standard.
We can use the social security system to support disabled Scots better, with around 1 in 10 Scots claiming one of the disability and carer payments for which the Scottish Government is now responsible. However, we are still failing to properly support disabled people in Scotland, who are now less likely to be able to claim successfully for disability payments than in England.
As payments for carers are linked to disability payments, hard-working carers also lose their support, even though they will never stop caring for their loved ones. The Scottish Greens will instead work to ensure these payments are accessible to all those who need them, and support disabled people and their carers to participate equally in society.
- Close the disability employment gap by improving access to specialist employability services run by experienced third and public sector organisations, not by private sector profiteers; and take action to ensure funding is more sustainable, so long-term support can be provided. We will also require all large publicly-funded organisations to take part in the Disability Guaranteed Interview Scheme.
- Call on the UK Government to devolve responsibility for the Access to Work scheme and for the employability functions of Jobcentre Plus, so that Scotland can provide a high quality, integrated employment support for disabled people and other groups at risk of long-term unemployment.
- Incorporate the UN Convention on Rights of Disabled People into Scots law, underpinning crucial rights such as the right to independent living, personal assistance and independent advocacy.
- Require the involvement of Disabled People’s Organisations in planning new public and private infrastructure, such as housing, public buildings, transport and public spaces, so that they meet inclusive design standards.
- Launch an urgent investigation into why the proportion of successful applications to Adult Disability Payment has fallen since its introduction, and is now below the equivalent figure in England and Wales, and implement recommendations to address this.
- Implement the recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment, including reviewing the adequacy of payments, scrapping the inhumane 20m rule, and ensuring assessments are inclusive of neurodivergent people.
- Ensure older disabled people are able to access the same mobility payments that younger disabled people receive, and make Scottish Blue Badges, currently the most expensive in the UK, free and simpler to access.
- Institute a review of the Carer Support Payment to examine the feasibility of improvement, such as providing an extra payment to those caring for more than one person; recognising carers who perform significant caring responsibilities below the current eligibility of 35 hours a week; and offering support to carers who claim the State Pension, who are currently excluded.
- Triple the Young Carer Grant to over £1,000 a year and expand eligibility, by, for example, ensuring that sibling carers and other young people who care together can both receive the payment.
- Mainstream disability inclusive communication approaches across public bodies and services exploring communication options, including email, phone, face-to-face and video calls.
