Inclusion ScotlandInclusion ScotlandInclusion ScotlandInclusion Scotland
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Our Mission
    • Our Board
    • Our Funders
    • Vacancies
  • What We Do
    • Employability and Civic Participation
    • Policy Work
    • People-Led Policy
    • Research
  • Resources
    • Employment
    • Human Rights
    • Poverty and Social Security
    • Reports
    • News
  • Become a Partner
  • Contact

Access to Elected Office Fund pilot exceeding target as Council nominations close

    Home Employability and Civic Participation Access to Elected Office Access to Elected Office Fund pilot exceeding target as Council nominations close
    NextPrevious
    Pie chart showing party breakdown by % as in accompanying text

    Access to Elected Office Fund pilot exceeding target as Council nominations close

    By Phyl Meyer | Access to Elected Office, Access to Politics, Accessibility, Employability and Civic Participation, News | Comments are Closed | 5 April, 2017 | 0

    The nominations are now in across Scotland, and there are 2,550 people who have put themselves forward as options for voters across the 32 Local Authorities. Established last year, our Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) has been racing against time to set up its pilot financial assistance scheme for disabled candidates, offering funding to pay for additional costs faced by disabled candidates and provide adjustments, assistive technology or personal / communication assistance as needed. The aim is both simple and very complex indeed – to attempt to level the playing field as much as possible for disabled candidates so they can compete on a fair basis. To do this we have engaged with parties, Local Authorities and the Electoral Commission to get the word out to potential and actual candidates that help was available. The success at getting the word out has varied depending on the enthusiasm with which the parties engaged with the project and encouraged disabled candidates to put themselves forward and to get in touch with us but on the whole we have been pleased with the initial success given this is the first time such a project has operated in Scotland.

    One in five of the population could define as disabled, so if our democracy was fully representative of disabled people we’d expect there to be around 550 disabled candidates. As it is, we are currently directly aware of around 50. We know there must be considerably more than that out there, but at present political parties do not routinely gather demographic information, nor is it required at the point of nomination, and of course not everyone who could define as disabled chooses to do so.

    We are proud to say that having set out to provide financial support to at least 30 disabled people seeking selection and then election in this pilot project year, we are (as of today) expecting to hit around 45 recipients of the Fund. We are still processing a last minute flurry of applications that came in near or just after the nomination deadline – and for practical reasons we plan to close the Fund to new applications by the end of next week, as it will be too late to process applications and meaningfully put support in place before the election after that time.

    We have also provided non-financial advice and support to many disabled people more generally interested in politics, as well as to political parties – including specific advice and support around making selection procedures more accessible and fair. There will be a great many lessons to learn from the pilot which we hope to work on after this election and will be looking for strong action from political parties to do their part to improve equality of representation,..

    As of today, here’s the current breakdown of participants currently receiving or shortly expected to receive Fund support, by party/independent:

    SNP  40.5%
    Green  13.5%
    Labour  10.8%
    Conservative  8.1%
    Lib Dem  5.4%
    SSP  2.7%
    TUSC  2.7%
    Independent  16.2%

    Pie chart showing party breakdown by % as in accompanying text

    We have a strong geographical spread, with recipients from Dumfriesshire to Orkney, as well as a wide range of impairment types represented (mobility, sensory, learning difficulty/disability, mental health, neurodiversity, chronic conditions). The support of the Fund is available to anyone disabled standing for election regardless of political affiliation, so the distribution of support reflects the candidates that came forward to us and for the most part this is down to the relative difference in numbers of candidates from each party or group, plus the extent to which their party has supported or encouraged disabled candidates to stand and to then seek our support.

    Can you help us out? We would love to find any other candidates out there that could define as disabled who we have not heard from – even if they don’t feel they need our help. For our purposes this includes anybody that could meet the Equality Act 2010 definition of “has a physical or mental impairment which substantially affects their ability to carry out day to day activities”, and this covers all types of impairment/disability and long-term health conditions. Please get in touch at accesspolitics@inclusionscotland.org

    Find out more about the Fund by clicking here to access the project main page.

    We are grateful to both the Scottish Government for funding the project, and to the One in Five Campaign, a cross-party group of disabled campaigners that helped secure the support needed.

    candidates, elections, Local Authorities
    Avatar

    Phyl Meyer

    Phyl is the Employability and Civic Participation Team Manager and has worked at Inclusion Scotland since 2014. He now leads our team of staff working on projects that tackle the barriers that can prevent disabled people playing a full and equal part in work and civic society. He previously worked on the creation of the Third Sector Internships Scotland program, and worked for Action on Hearing Loss Scotland as Volunteering Resource Manager.

    More posts by Phyl Meyer

    Related Posts

    • SILC’s Letter to the Human Rights Taskforce on UNCRPD General Comment 7

      By Lynne Wham | Comments are Closed

      Disabled people know best what matters and what needs to change.  Our Disabled People’s Organisations, like Inclusion Scotland and the members of the Scottish Independent Living Coalition (SILC) are organisations of, not for, disabled people… Continue Reading SILC’s Letter to the Human Rights Taskforce on UNCRPD General Comment 7

    • inclusion

      Inclusion Scotland is recruiting a new Chief Executive Officer

      By Lynne Wham | Comments are Closed

      Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Scotland Reports to: Board of trustees Salary: £53,635 per annum starting salary. Pension: 8 % employer contribution Hours: 35 hours a week (full-time) Annual Holiday: 35 days, including 10 days for… Continue Reading Inclusion Scotland is recruiting a new Chief Executive Officer

    • Call for urgent radical action to transform Scotland’s social care support system

      By Lynne Wham | Comments are Closed

      Disabled people’s organisations and carers’ organisations have come together to call on Scottish Government to take urgent, radical action to create a social care support system worthy of the name. In an open letter to… Continue Reading Call for urgent radical action to transform Scotland’s social care support system

    • Helping to create a new Scottish Social Security Benefit System through lived experience.

      By Naomi Waite | Comments are Closed

      “For anyone thinking of applying for this internship in the future, my advice would be don’t be hesitant, as it is a great opportunity for disabled people.” By Laura  Murdanaigum Before my internship I was… Continue Reading Helping to create a new Scottish Social Security Benefit System through lived experience.

    • Human Resources Intern Experience Blog with Skills Development Scotland

      By Naomi Waite | Comments are Closed

      “I would strongly recommend that any disabled person seeking employment apply for an opportunity on this programme as it really helps to build confidence and has such a diverse range of internships. The programme empowers… Continue Reading Human Resources Intern Experience Blog with Skills Development Scotland

    • Services For Who?

      By Lynne Wham | Comments are Closed

      Our new report, ‘Services for who?’, is the culmination of a 2 year DRILL funded research project which explored the experiences of disabled people with other characteristics when accessing services. We spoke to disabled people and service… Continue Reading Services For Who?

    • Blue background with white writing saying 'What is it like to be a disabled person at work?''. An orange box is underneath with white writing saying 'Add your experience using #myworkstory' an Inclusion Scotland logo is at the bottom of the page which has outlines of disabled people in different colour

      #myworkstory campaign

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      What is the #myworkstory campaign? On Friday 1 December 2017, Independent Living in Scotland, part of Inclusion Scotland, is launched #myworkstory, a social media campaign to encourage disabled people to get talking about being themselves at… Continue Reading #myworkstory campaign

    • Photo of Scottish Parliament with text reading 'Election Fund for Disabled Candidates opens!' and Access to Elected Office Fund Scotland logo.

      Press Release: Election Fund for Disabled Candidates opens

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      From Monday 17 September 2018 the Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) will be open for applicants running for selection and as candidates for the Scottish Parliament elections in 2021. The Fund, which is delivered by… Continue Reading Press Release: Election Fund for Disabled Candidates opens

    • Access to Elected Office Fund Scotland logo

      Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) – Join the Decision Making Panel

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      After the success of the Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) Pilot Project, we are now recruiting new members for the Decision Making Panel.  If you meet all or any of the Person Specifications below… Continue Reading Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) – Join the Decision Making Panel

    • Ashley Graczyk cheering as she is elected as an Edinburgh councillor

      Press Release: Successful Access to Elected Office Fund reopens

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      Marking the anniversary of the successful Access to Elected Office Pilot Fund Scotland which supported disabled candidates to stand in the 2017 Scottish Council Elections, Inclusion Scotland are now looking for expressions of interest from… Continue Reading Press Release: Successful Access to Elected Office Fund reopens

    • access to politics logo

      Press Release: Parties need to do more to make politics accessible

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      Political Parties need to do more to address the barriers that prevent disabled people from becoming fully active in politics, including standing for election, according to leading disabled people’s organisation Inclusion Scotland. Working with disabled… Continue Reading Press Release: Parties need to do more to make politics accessible

    • Vote for us in the Scottish Charity Awards!

      By admin | Comments are Closed

      When it comes to pioneering projects, the third sector is chock full of them. Our collective passion, determination and love for what we do is an asset to Scottish society. Inclusion Scotland is absolutely delighted… Continue Reading Vote for us in the Scottish Charity Awards!

    NextPrevious

    Navigation

    Home
    Who We Are
    What We Do
    Resources
    Become a Member
    Contact

    Address

    22-24 Earl Grey St
    Edinburgh
    EH3 9BN

    Contact details

    info@inclusionscotland.org

    0131 370 6700

    Social media

    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy
    © 2018 Inclusion Scotland | All rights reserved
    • Home
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Resources
    • News
    • Become a Partner
    • Contact
    Inclusion Scotland