Thousands of disabled people in Scotland are "poorly" housed, an equality commission has said as it called for the Scottish Government to take action.
An Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) inquiry into housing for disabled people in Scotland found almost 10,000 are on waiting lists for homes and 61,000 are waiting for adaptations to their homes such as grab rails, hoists or wet rooms.
The inquiry report found planning and funding were partially behind the problem as only 17% of Scottish local authorities have set a target for accessible and/or adaptable housing.
Just under a quarter (24%) of the councils said the data they held on disabled people's housing needs was good or very good and more than half (55%) said lack of funding for adaptations was a challenge.
Agenda: Raising standards is key for letting agents
The commission wants the Scottish Government to produce a national strategy to ensure enough homes are built to inclusive design standards.
John Wilkes, head of the ECHR in Scotland, said: "During our inquiry we heard many stories of people unable to leave their homes, restricted to eating, sleeping and bathing in one room, and loved ones risking their own health to carry family members upstairs or between rooms.
"The effect of this cannot be understated. It impacts on every aspect of a disabled person's life, their ability to participate in family life, to work, to access education and social life, as well as their dignity, health and well-being.
"Today there are 61,000 disabled Scots who are waiting for adaptations to their homes. A further 15,000 Scottish wheelchair users are poorly housed.
"But Scotland is currently building 50,000 affordable homes. We could resolve the problem for all of Scotland's wheelchair users now if these houses were built to accessible standards."
Agenda: Raising standards is key for letting agents
He said the commission estimates that demand for wheelchair accessible homes will rise by 80% in the next five years and that building an accessible house is four times cheaper than fitting adaptations retrospectively.
He added: "Building accessible housing is also far cheaper than keeping people in care homes or hospitals as we do just now simply because there is nowhere for them to live."
Mr Wilkes called for politicians to create an accessible housing register so disabled people know when adaptable housing becomes available, to ensure adaptations are installed quickly and to properly assess the current and future needs of Scotland's disabled people.
Agenda: Raising standards is key for letting agents
Recommendations the commission has made to the Scottish Government include requiring all local authorities to ensure at least 10% of all new homes are wheelchair accessible.
The commission also wants the government to amend its Affordable Housing Supply Programme to enable clear reporting of new-build accessible and wheelchair-accessible housing.
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