‘Our members are raging’: Shock and anger as Scottish government’s ‘sham’ co-production leads to ‘weak’ disability plan

Three national disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have attacked the Scottish government over a “sham” process of co-production that has led to a “weak” and “diluted” Disability Equality Plan for Scotland.

Disability Equality Scotland, Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA) and Inclusion Scotland say they spent 20 months working “tirelessly” with the Scottish government, investing “considerable time and energy”, in developing a “bold” plan that would change lives.

But they say their collaboration – which began “as a genuine attempt at co-design” – has now ended in a “collapse of all promises and ambition”.

They believe the SNP government has failed to deliver on its promises.

And they say they have been left “struggling to defend” their involvement to their disabled members because of what has “turned out to be a sham process”.

The three DPOs have now launched a two-week campaign – #DisabledPeopleDemandJustice – to ask for justice and equality for disabled people, and they have written to first minister John Swinney to demand an urgent meeting.

They say disabled people are in the middle of a “perfect storm”, as austerity measures; cuts to services, benefits and budgets; and the Covid pandemic, have had a disproportionate effect on disabled people.

They have backing from other Scottish DPOs, including Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living, Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living, Self Directed Support Scotland, and the mental health network VOX Scotland.

Tressa Burke, GDA’s chief executive, said they had seen a draft version of the new Disability Equality Plan but were unable to endorse it because it offered “no commitment to meaningful action and no progress towards disabled people’s equality”.

She said: “After 20 months we are really struggling to justify involvement in the working group because the plan is weak, it’s not got meaningful action, it’s really diluted in ambition… and it’s all apparently been justified because of resources.

“We weren’t asking for the world. We were asking for a progressive plan with steps.

“We are angry. Our members are raging, they feel like they have been led up the garden path.”

She said the DPOs were shocked at how bad the draft plan was, and that the Scottish government “have not taken on board anything we said”.

She said progress had “stagnated” and “stalled” over the last year.

She added: “We are shocked and we feel that disabled people have been betrayed and we feel in turn that we would be betraying our members if we went along with it.

“I think it’s really clear that every time there is a social or economic challenge, disabled people are relegated to the bottom.

“We are at the back of the queue, at the bottom of the pile, and it’s shocking and it’s shameful.”

The three DPOs say disabled people have experienced increasing poverty and inequality and regression in their rights and have been “forgotten” and “left behind” by those in power.

They called this week on the Scottish government to take “urgent and bold action so that disabled people get the essential support we are entitled to”.

They are demanding immediate funding to improve the accessibility of projects to provide information and support on welfare rights and debt; an end to social care charges; and an investment in the country’s DPOs.

They point to a survey carried out this summer by GDA, and published earlier this month, which found that 97 per cent of disabled people who responded were concerned they had been forgotten about by the government when it was setting priorities and plans.

The survey also found that 71 per cent of more than 600 disabled people who were surveyed said they did not have enough money to meet their needs.

In response to their concerns, Scottish social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said in a statement: “We recognise the multiple barriers disabled people face every day and we are working collaboratively to tackle them.

“This week, we launched our pension age disability payment, which will be worth between £290 and £434 a month to people of state pension age and over who are disabled or have a long-term health condition.

“We are committing a record £6.1 billion for benefits expenditure this year – including £300 million additional investment in adult disability payment, and the reopening of the Independent Living Fund will help up to 1,000 more disabled people to access the support needed to lead independent lives.

“We continue to call on the UK government to introduce a social tariff for those who need the most support with energy costs and we have established a working group, which includes disabled people’s organisations, to help demonstrate how this policy could work.

“The Disability Equality Plan is the first phase of a wider strategy.

“We have made difficult decisions to ensure that what is set out in the plan can be achieved in the challenging economic situation Scotland faces.

“It has been developed with dedicated input from disabled people’s organisations.

“The Scottish government recognises the aspirations of disabled people and their organisations lie beyond what could be achieved in this first phase of the plan.

“We greatly value their commitment to continue to work with us as we lay the necessary foundations to ensure accountability and pave the way for systemic change.”

The government said the first minister met with DPOs to discuss their concerns in August, and would respond to their letter in due course.

A Scottish government spokesperson added: “We have engaged with DPOs throughout every stage of the development of this plan and continue to do so, as this is only the first phase of a wider strategy.

“We are committed to delivering what we can achieve within our budgetary constraints and the limits of devolved powers.

“We will continue to work with disabled people’s organisations to progress disability equality and build towards a fairer Scotland.”

Picture: (From left to right) Heather Fisken, chief executive of Inclusion Scotland; Lyn Pornaro, chief executive of Disability Equality Scotland; and Tressa Burke 

A note from the editor:

Please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations.

Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please note that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring and has been from its launch in April 2009.

Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS…