Inclusion Scotland – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

More support for disabled people as Improving Access Fund launched

A new fund launched yesterday offers £1.5 million in grants for projects designed to break down barriers and strengthen services that disabled people depend on.

The Improving Access Fund is a key part of the Scottish Government’s £3 million Disability Equality Plan. Jointly designed with Disabled People’s Organisations, the Fund will provide grants for projects that improve access to essential services and promote independent living, choice, and participation.

It will focus on three priorities:

Accessible financial advice and support
Inclusive participation in communities and everyday life
Better mental health and wellbeing.

Minister for Equalities Kaukab Stewart said: “Scotland should be a country where disabled people can live the lives they choose – supported, empowered, and included every step of the way.

“Today’s launch of our Improving Access Fund is a really important step towards that – it has been designed with disabled people, for disabled people.

“Through our Disability Equality Plan, we are making a clear commitment: disabled people are a priority for the Scottish Government. By investing £3 million in this work, we are strengthening access to the services and support that enable independence, choice, and participation.

“In contrast, disabled people in Scotland remain deeply concerned about the potential effects of planned UK Government welfare reforms. We call on the UK Government to abandon these damaging proposals and to follow the Scottish Government’s lead in investing in and enhancing the social security safety net, rather than tearing it apart.”

Heather Fisken, CEO of Inclusion Scotland said: “Disabled People’s organisations are led by disabled people ourselves and know best what needs to change.

“For too long our organisations have had to shift shape to ‘fit’ with funders’ missions and requirements, missing out on critical funding to keep our organisations running and to make the changes desperately needed so that disabled people are empowered in their own lives.

“The Improving Access Fund is different because it targets Disabled People’s Organisations and DPOs helped to design it.”

Tressa Burke, CEO of Glasgow Disability Alliance said: “Our survey of 756 disabled members found 91% are deeply concerned about equality and human rights, feeling under attack and de-prioritised.

“This has led to poverty, exclusion, poorer mental health, and reduced participation in daily life. Glasgow Disability Alliance and our members welcome the Improving Access Fund, which will advance equality, independent living, choice, and participation.”

Lyn Pornaro, CEO of Disability Equality Scotland said: “Disabled people demand justice and access to services, buildings, events and public bodies – in the same way as non-disabled people.

“This fund is a starting point to improving access to the key areas of focus in the Disability Equality Plan and, most importantly, in the lives of disabled people daily.”

Disability Equality Plan

The Fund is being administered by Inspiring Scotland and more details are available here

Improving access to services for disabled people

Increased investment as part of Disability Equality Plan

Additional funding of £500,000 will be delivered to strengthen access to essential services and projects that disabled people rely on.

It comes as a result of dialogue with Independent MSP Jeremy Balfour on the best way to support Disabled People’s Organisations and follows his tireless campaigning on behalf of disabled people throughout this parliamentary session.

The additional investment will support our Improving Access Fund, announced earlier this year as part of the Scottish Government’s Disability Equality Plan. This brings the total funding available in the fund to £1.5 million.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We made it very clear when launching our Disability Equality Plan that disabled people are a priority for the Scottish Government.

“In order to deliver lasting change, we must improve access to vital support and services. That’s why the Scottish Government is boosting the amount available via the Improving Access Fund. This means we are committing to invest £3 million to support the overall Disability Equality Plan and improve the lives of disabled people across Scotland.

“We also recognise the vital role Disabled People’s Organisations play in working to support and empower disabled people, and so we are committing to explore multi-year funding for those organisations.”

Independent MSP Jeremy Balfour said: “I am proud to have worked with the Scottish Government to deliver new money for disabled people in Scotland.

“This funding is a solid step in the right direction, but it must not be the last step. I believe a wider debate needs to take place on how best to support disabled people across into the next parliament.

“Delivery of a multi-year funding deal is a welcome commitment.”

Inclusion Scotland has welcomed the announcement from the Scottish Government of an additional £0.5 million for the Improving Access Fund:

“This funding will help deliver the actions set out in the Disability Equality Plan launched earlier this year.

“We will continue to work alongside Glasgow Disability Alliance, Disability Equality Scotland, and disabled people to ensure the fund brings real and lasting improvements to disabled people’s everyday lives, while building momentum and commitment towards securing all the resources needed to achieve equality.”

The Improving Access Fund will open for applications in autumn this year.

Disability Equality Plan

Inclusion Scotland: Welfare Experiences Project

The Welfare Experiences project is a ground-breaking international study comparing how people experience benefits in Estonia, Hungary, Norway, Spain, and the UK. It looks at how policies shape those experiences and, more importantly, what needs to change.

Inclusion Scotland is proud to be a co-production partner, bringing disabled people’s lived experience in Scotland into the spotlight. In 2024, we ran focus groups with our members about claiming Universal Credit.

This report shares what they told us. These are real stories that we aim to use to push for a fairer, more respectful benefits system.

Welfare-Experiences-Report Download

The Welfare Experiences project is an ambitious, innovative project comparing the experience of receiving benefits in five different countries: Estonia, Hungary, Norway, Spain and the UK.

The project will be one of the first international comparisons of the experiences of individuals receiving public benefits. We are looking at the nature of these experiences, how different policies affect them, and their impacts – with the aim of making welfare systems work better.

The project runs from 2023-28 and is both mixed-methods and coproduced – find out more by looking at the Work Packages page, which explains what we are doing.

Our pan-European team includes eight different research organisations and seven organisations that work with people with lived experience of claiming – you can find out more about the Team here.

The WelfareExperiences project receives €3m of funding from the UK Research & Innovation Guarantee [EP/Y024621/1], having been selected by the European Research Council.

Adult Disability Payment now open for new applications across Scotland

Adult Disability Payment is now open for new applications across Scotland. The national rollout follows successful pilots in 13 local authority areas, which began in March.

It is the twelfth and most complex benefit to be delivered by the Scottish Government. It replaces the UK Government’s Personal Independence Payment.

The benefit provides financial support to people aged between 16 and state pension age who are disabled, have a long-term health condition or have a terminal illness.

People already receiving the UK Government’s Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance do not need to apply for Adult Disability Payment.

These existing awards will transfer automatically from the DWP to Social Security Scotland. Cases will transfer in stages starting from this summer and this process is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “The national launch of Adult Disability Payment is a significant milestone in the development of our new social security system, that will treat everyone with dignity, fairness and respect.

“This is the twelfth and most complex devolved benefit to be introduced and, once all the awards have transferred from the DWP, this new payment will be supporting more than 300,000 people.

“We are offering a range of ways to make an application, including online, by post, over the phone or face-to-face. Social Security Scotland local delivery teams are also available to provide assistance in communities across the country.

“In creating our new system, we have worked extensively and collaboratively with people who will use this service. Their input, and their direct experience of the DWP system, has significantly informed our policy development and resulted in the number of improvements that we are making to the way in which we are delivering our new service.

“The Scottish Government is focused on providing a positive and compassionate experience for people applying for and receiving our Adult Disability Payment.

“In our Scottish system no one will be subject to DWP style assessments or degrading functional examinations, and we will never use the private sector to carry out health examinations.

“People will only be invited to a consultation on occasions when we require more information so we can make a decision. This will be a conversation with a health and social care professional to understand how a person’s disability or health condition impacts them.

“Social security is a shared investment in building a fairer Scotland. It is a human right and we encourage those who may be eligible for support to apply.”

Moira Tasker, Chief Executive of Inclusion Scotland said: “Inclusion Scotland warmly welcomes today’s launch of the Adult Disability Payment. Many disabled people are being disproportionately hard hit by the UK economic crisis and are deeply worried about just surviving this winter.

“The Adult Disability Payment will offer much needed support to eligible disabled people. It ushers in further progress towards upholding the values of dignity and respect in Scottish society, which were entirely lacking in the Department of Work and Pensions approach to disability benefits.

“We are proud of the part that disabled people, our members and Inclusion Scotland played in engaging with the Scottish Government to make a new system for Scottish disability benefits fair and accessible.

“The Adult Disability Payment is a leap forward. It has the potential to enable disabled people and Scots with long-term health conditions to participate in their communities and wider Scottish society – whether that is through work, education, family life, or simply a life lived without fear of phone calls or letters demanding repeated assessments and sanctions.”

You can apply if you are between 16 years old and state pension age, need help with the extra costs of being disabled or having a long term health condition.

Apply at https://bit.ly/ApplyForAdultDisabilityPayment

Tackling inequalities through economic recovery in Scotland

A new Centre of Expertise in Equality and Human Rights to put human rights and equality at the heart of economic policy development is being established.

The Centre, an action from Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation, will see government working with leading experts to build knowledge and skills among policy officials to address injustice and economic inequality.

Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said: “Our vision for Scotland is to create a wellbeing economy where our society is thriving economically, socially and environmentally, and in which we deliver prosperity for all Scotland’s people and places.

“By focusing on wellbeing and fair work, we can deliver higher rates of employment and wage growth, to reduce poverty – particularly child poverty – and improve health and quality of life for disadvantaged families and communities.

“The Centre of Expertise in Equality and Human Rights will advance our understanding of how equality and human rights should influence the economic policy-making process.

“This includes work in areas to remove barriers to employment for disabled people, women, those with care experience and minority ethnic groups while also tackling poverty through fair pay and conditions.

“Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation identified challenges to overcoming inequality across the economy, but also opportunities to build a fairer and more equal society with opportunities for all to succeed.”

The Scottish Government will develop the centre in partnership with stakeholders such as Inclusion Scotland.

Senior policy advisor at Inclusion Scotland Bill Scott said: “This new centre is an exciting development which we believe will ensure that equalities and human rights are at the heart of future economic policy development and implementation.

“Its work will be crucial in first identifying and then tackling the inequalities that currently condemn far too many of Scotland’s disabled people to poverty and low pay.”

Book your place at disability rights conference

A conference on disability rights in Scotland

It has been six months since the United Nations (UN) Disability Committee published its report about disability rights in the UK. In this report the UN Committee set out its main concerns about disability rights in the UK and lists over 80 recommendations for action by our governments.

We are holding a conference to talk about the UN Committee’s concerns and recommendations for action on:

Tuesday 6 March 2018 from 10:15 am – 3:30pm

COSLA Conference Centre in Edinburgh Continue reading Book your place at disability rights conference

Film & Discussion: I, Daniel Blake

Hello,
You are invited to the following event:

I DANIEL BLAKE + Q&A

Event to be held at the following time, date and location:

Saturday, 26 November 2016 from 10:00 to 13:00 (GMT)

Cineworld Fountainpark
30/3 Dundee Street,
EH11 1AF Edinburgh
United Kingdom

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You are invited to a private screening of the film I Daniel Blake with a Q and A on Saturday 26th November at Cineworld Fountainpark Edinburgh. The film will be followed by a Q&A session which will begin immediately after the film screening.

On the panel will be Peter Kelly, Director of Poverty Alliance, Bill Scott from Inclusion Scotland, Paul Laverty, script writer for IDB, Jack Munro National campaigner around IDB, Sacha Callaghan, Disability History Group, a spokesperson for the STUC and a representative of the Scottish Parliament.

We hope you can join us and participate in this event.

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We hope you can make it.

Best,
Action Against Austerity