Disability groups withdraw from Swinney talks over plan 'betrayal'

The groups have worked with the Scottish Government on the Disabled People's Organisations (DPOs) Working Group which sought to address inequalities in access to work, energy and vital equipment.

But after 20 months, the organisations have said they can no longer justify their involvement in the working group, describing the draft strategy as "weak" for failing to address key asks which includes increased investment in debt advice services and the removal of social care charges.

The letter, seen by The Herald, said: "The plan has diluted the shared ambition, actions and hopes which disabled people and our organisations had for tackling poverty, inequalities and injustice disabled people face.

"We feel the recommendations we made based on thousands of disabled people sharing lived experience, combined with policy analysis have been largely ignored.

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"As a result, we do not believe the plan will improve lives and we cannot endorse the plan shared with us in its current state."

The draft strategy has not been made public but the group has said it puts no tangible actions in place to improve the lives of disabled groups.

In July, the group raised concerns that the needs of disabled people had been “deprioritised”, with the three organisations further “disillusioned” with the tone of a meeting with Mr Swinney in August.

The Scottish Government said “difficult decisions” have been made on what is included in the plan to ensure it can be achieved in the “challenging” economic climate.

But the organisations have demanded an emergency meeting with Mr Swinney to address their concerns.

“We are asking for your urgent leadership and intervention so that disabled people are a priority,” the letter said.

Lyn, Heather and Tressa. (Image: Supplied) It said the three organisations had “worked tirelessly and invested time and our very limited resources” towards the partnership with ministers.

However, the letter continued: “What began as a genuine attempt at co-design of the Disability Equality Plan has ended in a collapse of promises and ambition, leaving us struggling to defend our involvement to our members.

“In short, disabled people feel let down and abandoned and it would be a betrayal to our members to go any further without challenging the plan and pushing for more meaningful action.”

Research by all three groups found members were often reliant on independent living or lifesaving equipment, while the vast majority had concerns over their ability to pay energy bills.

It also found disabled Scots were significantly more likely to cut back on food to pay for energy costs compared to their non-disabled counterparts.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville. (Image: Newsquest) The three disability organisations also said they need guarantees their funding will be protected in future budgets to allow them to continue to support the those who need it. 

Tressa Burke, chief executive of Glasgow Disability Alliance, told The Herald: “To actually get to the point where we’re walking away from something – we cannot endorse it – that has never happened before.

“We do not do that lightly because we see it as our job to make use of every opportunity that is available to us to get the best results for disabled people.”

Ms Burke added: “We really, really do want to work with the Government to come up with the actions but we would be betraying our members to say that this plan is going to have any impact on their lives in any short-term way. It’s just not going to so we need some actions that are going to make a difference now.”

The Scottish Government said it is actively working to improve the lives of those with disabilities, with schemes including Pension Age Disability Payments and Adult Disability Payment.

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There is also an Independent Living Fund which helps disabled Scots access support needed to lead independent lives - but the DPOs have said these are still subject to social care charges.

Heather Fisken, chief executive of Inclusion Scotland, said: "We spent months exploring disabled people's priority recommendations with them only to be told that most of them would not happen.

“Disabled people’s situation in Scotland was never good. Since the pandemic and the cost of living crisis it has been far worse than we could have imagined.

“It is not right or fair that disabled people are disproportionately living in poverty. For them, it is not just a hard choice between heating or eating.

“It comes down to whether to charge mobility aids or use health equipment to stay alive. Inadequate benefits, low employment prospects, and having to pay exorbitant costs for social care support services have drained disabled people.

“Disabled people across Scotland we spoke to are clear that this cannot continue. We need urgent commitment to action that materialises, not just more fine words.”

Lyn Pornaro, chief executive of Disability Equality Scotland, said: "Disabled people have been ignored for too long, systematically, and year after year.

"Supporting them now needs to happen. We cannot wait any longer. March 2023 is when the government asked us to help create a plan to support disabled people urgently. Nearly 20 months later we still do not have a published plan, which is weak."

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish Government's new Pension Age Disability Payment, launched this week, will be worth between £290 and £434 for eligible Scots.

She added that a "record £6.1 billion" had been committed to benefits expenditure this year, including £300 million for additional investment in the Adult Disability Payment and the reopening on the Independent Living Fund.

Ms Somerville said: “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.”