Our new Manifesto for Inclusion April 2017 is now available for the upcoming Local Council elections on 4th May 2017.
Despite being rich in natural resources, talent and cultural heritage, Scotland remains scarred by poverty, inequality, discrimination and exclusion. One of the groups worst affected is disabled people.
We are still largely excluded from many areas of Scottish economic, political and social life. At every stage of our lives we face barriers to inclusion.
Local Government has responsibility for a number of policies and services that are of great importance to disabled people. These include social care, occupational therapy, local transport, planning and building control, accessible housing, community facilities, supported employment and inclusive education.
Local Government therefore has a vitally important role to play in removing barriers to inclusion and enabling us to exercise our human rights.
Community empowerment and health and social care integration will change how local authorities work with the communities and individuals who use their services. Working with disabled people and their organisations can help local authorities to set the right outcomes and understand where they have been successful (or not).
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) developed, with disabled people, a Disability Delivery Plan setting out what Local Authorities will do to promote disabled people’s human rights under the UN Convention. Whether or not Local Authorities are members of COSLA, the fulfilment of disabled people’s human rights should not be a matter of post-code lotteries. Much remains to be done.
There is no excuse.
