Disability charities in Glasgow urge SNP to act on hardship

The charity leader, who has Multiple Sclerosis, said she had written to the First Minister saying she "didn't want to go to another member's funeral" mentioning that more than one person had taken their own life.

She said "well intentioned" SNP policies on child poverty, self-directed support and 20-minute neighbourhoods had been implemented "with no thought or extra measures to protect or involve disabled people".

She said there was a lack of state accountability for decisions made at local level, citing the example of Glasgow cutting £21.5 million from the social care budget "leaving many without essential support" in their homes.

Ms Burke said she was left furious after attending an anti-poverty summit earlier this year at Holyrood where, "it was as though we weren't there".

She said an initial a request for a meeting with First Minister, Humza Yousaf had been refused by his officials but he did meet with the charity last month.

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The Scottish Government asked disability groups to help put together a new action to address inequalities but she said very little had been achieved.

It followed the case in England where disabled organisations took the UK government to court and won because they had not involved the groups in a new strategy. The decision was later over-turned by the  Court of Appeal on a technicality.

She said benefits including the Disability Living Allowance were not adequate to meet the costs of being disabled and they were the only group of people who didn’t get an uplift in financial support during the pandemic.

"People are dying and nobody knows and nobody cares," said the charity leader.

"It's a very unsung story. It only touches people if it touches their family or very sadly if it's a child.

"In March, Glasgow took the decision to cut £21.5million from the social care budget and not only that they took the decision to increase the cost (of social care charges) to 75% of their income after housing costs," added Ms Burke.

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"That is absolutely shocking. It really is wrong because it's a backdoor tax that disabled people pay in Scotland.

"In essence, disabled people are paying what is equivalent to a mortgage on care charges.

"There are some disabled people that just aren't taking social care,"she added. 

"I sent a letter [to the First Minister] saying I cannot go to another member's funeral because of poverty. I am going to a funeral next week of someone who took their own life and they are not the first.

"Child poverty is a massive thing but 40% of children living in poverty live in a household with a disabled person so it's nonsense to not tackle disabled peoples' poverty.

"It was an SNP manifesto commitment to scrap care charges and they haven't done it."

She said previous governments had also failed to do enough to reduce inequalities.

"Almost always, the policy intent is good but lacking in understanding and analysis of how disabled people could benefit and what additional measures need to be in place so this can happen," said the charity leader.

It follows a report which found disabled people in Glasgow are going without food, electricity and home comforts including TV and radio because of the cost-of-living crisis.

One person, who took part in the study, said they had not put their heating on for two years because of fears over the cost of bills.

A group of organisations that represent disabled people in Scotland have written to the First Minister calling for an immediate action plan "with resources behind it".

READ MORE: Disabled people hardest hit by rising energy bills 

They write: "First Minister, it should shock and shame us that the position of disabled people has deteriorated since the UN described our lives as a "human catastrophe" in 2017, highlighting  "grave and systematic violations’ of our human rights as a consequence of welfare reform and cuts to public services. 

"Over 25% of the population in Scotland is disabled and yet we have never been a priority for the Scottish Government.

"Left to making decisions about policy priorities and how money is spent, local authorities will not prioritise disabled people over their wider communities.

"Disabled people suffer more when public services like social care are cut because we are disproportionately more likely to need or use such services."

The letter was co-authored with Disability Equality Scotland, Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living, Inclusion Scotland and Self Directed Support Scotland.

Disability charity, ‘SCOPE’, estimates that in 2023, on average, disabled households (with at least one disabled adult or child) need an additional £975 a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households. 

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government remains committed to advancing equality for disabled people, who we recognise are disproportionately impacted by the UK Government’s welfare cuts and current cost of living crisis. 

"We are working closely with Disabled People’s Organisations to develop actions that combat the effects the crisis continues to have on disabled people’s lives.”