healthandcare.scot is reporting that the Scottish government is 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, has spoken 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.
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.
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