Chamber and committees

The Scottish Governmentis committed to consultation and engagement with disabled people. We currently funda number of national disability led organisations to assist us with this. We regardthis as an important feature of our work and will want to continue to provide support.

The Scottish Governmentis committed to equality of opportunity for disabled people and is keen to ensurethat disabled people and disability organisations receive support and informationthat meets their needs.

Wecurrently support the work of a number of national disability organisations to helpus to improve the flow of information to disabled people and disability organisations.For example, the Scottish Government funds a number of organisations to publicisethe availability of direct payments for self-directed support including UPDATE,(Scotland’s National Disability Information Service), the Scottish Personal AssistantEmployers Network (SPAEN) which provides information and support to those individualsinterested in employing personal assistants, the Scottish Consortium of Direct PaymentSupport Organisations (SCDPSO) which provides a forum for direct payments supportorganisations throughout Scotland to work together, and Contact a Family Scotlandfor a direct payments information service.

We are happy to lookat how we further improve the flow of information and will continue to explore thiswith disabled people and disability organisations.

Under the DisabilityDiscrimination Act 1995 (DDA), service providers and public authorities are requiredto make reasonable adjustments to allow access for disabled people. The ScottishGovernment will ensure that the services that it provides, and the public functionsthat it delivers, meet the requirements of the DDA. We expect other organisationsto do the same.

Work to ensure disabled peoplecan readily access buildings where the Scottish Government is a major occupier hasbeen on-going for a number of years. Access Audits have been performed for all ofour properties and a range of works carried out to improve access for visitors witha disability. A further range of works have been identified to be carried out duringthe current financial year.

We also recognisethe role that local access panels can play and have provided support to developtheir capacity over recent years.

The Scottish Governmentrecognises the specific references to independent living in work carried out bythe Disability Rights Commission and by the Scottish Parliament’s Equal OpportunitiesCommittee and is currently considering what further steps need to be taken to advanceindependent living in Scotland and we will announce our plans later in the year.

The Scottish Governmentwill take forward its commitment to improved social inclusion for disabled peoplethrough the delivery of its five strategic objectives and overarching purpose, whichcommit all public services to creating a fairer Scotland with opportunities for all Scots to flourish through increasing sustainableeconomic growth.

A number of policiesand programmes act to deliver this commitment in relation to disabled people. Forillustration, disabled people mare a priority group for all seven of the targetareas for the Workforce Plus employability framework, and the Scottish Governmentdirectly supports a programme run by the Child Poverty Action Group to enhance theprovision of high-quality advice on the tax credits and benefits to families affectedby disability.

Some legislative rights,for example, those relating to employment and benefits, are contained in legislationreserved to Westminster.

In the Scottish context,Scottish ministers are considering what steps need to be taken to advance independentliving in Scotland and we will announce our plans later in theyear.

A number of piecesof relevant legislation relating to independent living, including employment andbenefits legislation and anti-discrimination legislation, is reserved to Westminster.

In Scotland, the Scottish Government is currently considering whatsteps need to be taken to advance independent living and we will announce our planslater in the year.

The Scottish Governmentis aware of the calls for national measures to promote positive attitudes towardsdisabled people which were made in the Equal Opportunities Committee’s DisabilityInquiry Report Removing Barriers and Creating Opportunities (November2006), in the Disability Working Group’s report (November 2006). These reportswill inform our consideration of what steps need to be taken to further promotedisability equality and advance independent living in Scotland and we will announceour plans later in the year.

The Scottish Governmentis committed to creating a fairer, wealthier Scotland and will work towards this end through delivery of its five strategic objectivesand overarching purpose. It will help to address income inequality between disabledand non-disabled people through the provision of a number of policies and programmes,from the promotion of disability equality to the Workforce Plus employability framework,which seeks to maximize opportunities to access good quality sustainable employmentfor the most disadvantaged in relation to the labour market, including disabledpeople.

The public sectorduty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people, which came into forcein December 2006, provides an opportunity for public bodies to focus on the needsof disabled people and develop work on independent living. The duty also provides a reporting frameworkfor progress towards disability equality with the first annual reports due in December2007. This may provide some measure of the progress being made towards independentliving.

However, the ScottishGovernment is also considering what further steps need to be taken to advance independentliving in Scotland, and how performance can be measured mosteffectively, and we will announce our plans later in the year.