Call it what you want, “tough choices” or “de-prioritisation”, the language from the Scottish Government all points to cuts.

The lack of clarity on the areas that will be “de-prioritised” isn’t helpful.

However, one thing is clear: disabled people and their carers must be protected from the impact of these cuts.

As it stands, they are already at the sharp end of years of austerity and the annual push to find more and more “efficiencies”.

Lack of proper social care packages, inadequate support in schools, the fading network of community services are all restricting disabled people’s access to something that so many of us take for granted – the ability to live as independently as possible.

The Scottish Human Rights Commission stated in August 2023 that disabled people are facing “unrelenting attacks on their human rights”.

Half of all people in poverty live in a household where at least one member is disabled.

This is the social cost of just standing still and keeping budgets as they are. The further impacts of “de-prioritising” services people with disabilities need would make things even worse.

The Finance Secretary’s recent announcement throws up so many questions around the future of the Scottish Government’s commitment to making progress in supporting disabled people.

For example, we have been promised a new strategy to support disabled young people making the transition from childhood to adulthood. Currently, young people and their families feel abandoned in a system that is confusing and doesn’t do enough to properly support disabled young people to achieve their dreams and ambitions. The process when moving from child to adult health care is equally difficult.

When that strategy is announced will there be additional funding to turn words into action? Or will it be a contribution to the already wide literature on what could be done if only we had the money?

Scottish Government figures show that disabled people are over twice as likely to experience loneliness compared to non-disabled people. They are also less likely to meet socially than non-disabled people.

For charities and community organisations like ours that seek to tackle these issues the question is: will the Scottish Government’s position as a major funder of important community and charity work across Scotland continue to hold?

The impact of the announcement earlier this month could see us lose 22 per cent of Scottish Government funding this year. This is part of a wider trend that has seen the total contribution to our services from Scottish Government fall by over 40% since 2018. We are not the only charity who will be having discussions over the coming weeks about what to do if Scottish Government funding doesn’t come through or is cut further in future years.

Addressing the entrenched inequalities people with disabilities face costs money. We can’t pretend that it doesn’t.

The call over the coming years from politicians will be about making sacrifices.

Speaking not just as a CEO of a charity caring for people with disabilities, but as a dad with a wonderful disabled daughter, I’d say we can’t sacrifice any more.

Lawrence Cowan is CEO of Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland

Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk