The Scottish government are searching for a facilitator for the Disability Equality Strategy, just weeks after the Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood)(Scotland) Bill was re-introduced in parliament.

The Education, Children and Young People Committee has been designated as the lead committee for initial parliamentary scrutiny of the bill.

Pam Duncan-Glancy, the Labour MSP who re-introduced the bill, spoke to healthandcare.scot about the bill’s importance in improving outcomes for disabled children and young people. She said:

“At that moment in your life which is supposed to be full of excitement about what the future may hold – disabled people are just thinking there's nothing they can ever do to change their outcomes or the future.

“And that to me is a massive signal that we're failing far too many disabled people.”

The bill was codeveloped with Inclusion Scotland, a Disabled People’s Organisation, run by disabled people, and Camphill Scotland, both working to achieve positive changes to policy and practice, to improve outcomes for and ensure disabled people are fully included in Scottish society as equal citizens.

Bill Scott, Senior Policy Advisor at Inclusion Scotland, said:

“We desperately need to improve outcomes for young disabled school-leavers. They are currently failed by a system that provides little or no support to help them achieve their ambitions.

“As a result, young disabled people are three times as likely as non-disabled young people to not be in training, education or employment by the time they reach their 19th birthday.”

Pam-Duncan Glancy explained that beyond feeling hopeless, the employment and education statistics for disabled people show current policy is not effective in supporting disabled children and young people:

“It’s clear to see that disabled people are not getting into jobs. The reason we need a right, and therefore a bill and statutory obligation, is because all these statistics show that what we’re doing so far isn’t working.”

While to Ms Duncan-Glancy and Inclusion Scotland, the bill sits firmly within the scope of equalities and human rights, they is confident that the new lead committee will deliver on this bill.

The bill calls for the introduction of a National Transitions Strategy, placing the responsibility on Scottish Ministers for preparing, implementing and review the strategy to improve outcomes.

It also makes local authorities responsible for developing and implementing transition plans for each disabled young person. Emma Walker, Director of Camphill Scotland, said:

“Camphill Scotland’s concern is that, without the ongoing and fully supported transitions plans this legislation seeks to introduce, large numbers of disabled children and young people will continue to be deprived of opportunities to fulfil their potential, and to make the most of their lives.”

Minister for Parliamentary Business, George Adam, moved to designate the Education, Children and Young People Committee as the lead committee on the bill at stage one last week. Initially placed with the Equality, Human Rights and Civil Justice committee, Pam Duncan-Glancy told healthandcare.scot:

“It ultimately does come down to being an equalities and human rights issue, however I have a lot of confidence in members across the chamber including in the education committee. I’m pretty sure that together with the committee, we can develop the best piece of legislation.”

Mr Scott agrees, saying Inclusion Scotland know members of this committee are dedicated to the welfare of all disabled children and young people. He added that this is their “opportunity to place young disabled people on a more equal footing with their non-disabled peers”.

The Scottish government is also looking to commission an external facilitator to oversee the development of a Disability Equality Strategy. Mr Scott says they have been working with the government to ensure it will do more to improve the lives of disabled people. He added:

“We view the Transitions Bill as essential in putting some of the fine words in the strategy document into action.”

Little information has been released about the new strategy, but a recent tender notice says the facilitator will enable the codesign of the strategy with the Scottish government and external stakeholders, supporting them in agreeing the priorities, actions and responsibilities to be included. Ms Duncan-Glancy is cautiously hopeful for this strategy, saying:

“It's important that disabled people co-design these strategies, but on the other hand, the government has lots of people working for it.

“More money on a consultant to do this might be money that could go more directly to disabled people's organizations to do the work, or indeed to disabled people's pockets.”

She hopes that disabled people, those around them, and the general public across Scotland will all contribute at the consultation stage of the Transitions to Adulthood Bill:

“So I hope disabled people, their families, carers, friends, people who work in schools and higher education will come together and tell the committee why this bill is important, but also how we can make the most of it – that includes any areas where they think it can be strengthened.

“I’m up for making sure that we get the strongest piece of legislation possible from this. So that's what I hope happens in stage one and stage two, and I obviously hope for cross-party support too.”

Inclusion Scotland’s Mr Scott says that disabled people must be “at the table” when developing policy that will affect their lives, adding:

“That’s the only way to ensure that the policies are fit for purpose and do not, sometimes inadvertently, increase our exclusion from community life.

“Government and even some third sector organisations claim to be doing things “for” disabled people but if we are not involved in the policies’ development, they can instead end up doing things to us. If they instead acted to remove barriers to our participation, we could do things for ourselves.”

Heather Fisken from Inclusion Scotland says expects “robust evidence” of outcomes once the bill is implemented, and reporting on what needs to be changed during implementation will be essential.

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