In June 2008 Inclusion Scotland held a conference titled “Homes for Life” which looked at the need for more accessible and affordable housing for disabled people in Scotland.
The conference was a great success and marked the beginning of Inclusion Scotland’s awareness raising of accessible and affordable housing. The comprehensive conference report can be read by clicking here. You can also view the accompanying film called ‘Homes for Life’ by clicking on the video panel to the right.
UN Convention on the 'Rights of Persons with Disabilities'
In March 2007 the UK Government signed the UN Convention on the ‘Rights of Persons with Disabilities’. The Convention is the first treaty in history to give the millions of disabled people across the globe comprehensive human rights. The UK needs to ratify the Convention before it becomes legally binding. So far, it has not done so. Please encourage the Prime Minister to ratify the Convention in full - add your name to our online petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/noreservations/
Inclusion Scotland Roadshows
Inclusion Scotland are planning and developing our series of roadshows which we will be taking place all over the country in the next three years. Four which have been currently planned are:
East Renfrewshire - in partnership with East Renfrewshire Council’s Disability Workers Network
Date: Monday 20th October 2008, 10am – 3pm Venue: Eastwood House, Giffnock BOOKING FORM
Issues to be discussed: Employment, Access to Information/Communication & Accessible Housing
Inverclyde – in partnership with Inverclyde Council on Disability BOOKING FORM
Date: Friday 31st October 2008, 10am – 3pm Venue: Pirrie Hall , Old West Kirk , Campbell Street, Greenock
Issues to be discussed: Accessible Housing, Accessible Transport, Access to Information & Access to Mental Health Services
Inverness – in partnership with Highlands & Islands Equality Forum BOOKING FORM
Date: Friday 14th November 2008, 10am – 3pm Venue: Inches Church Hall, Inverness
Issues to be discussed: Accessible Transport & Accessible Housing
Fife – in partnership with Fife Independent Disability Network BOOKING FORM
Date: Friday 5th December 2008, 10am – 3pm Venue: Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline
Issues to be discussed: Accessible Transport, Accessible Housing & Home Care/Independent Living
Each roadshow is FREE and will include a light lunch. Bookings are on a first come, first served basis.
To book a place at any roadshow, download the appropriate booking form and return to Donna McSwiggan at 5a Sir James Clark Building, Abbey Mill Business Centre, Paisley PA1 1TJ; e-mail information@inclusionscotland.org or fax to 0141 848 7551.
Latest News
Thursday, 4 December 2008
MSPs to be asked to back UK bills
The Scottish Government will help UK ministers implement parts of the Queen's Speech affecting Scotland.
Scotland's minister for parliament, Bruce Crawford, said he would ask MSPs to agree to Westminster legislating in five devolved areas.
They include measures on justice, equality, local democracy, the marine environment and the police.
But Mr Crawford also hit out...
Equality Bill to 'make Britain fairer'
Nine major laws and 100 other regulations will be replaced by a single Equality Bill which the Government pledged will strengthen discrimination legislation and tackle the gender pay gap, it was announced today.
Harriet Harman, minister for women and equality, said the economic downturn would not hold back the 'tough' new measures,...
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Good news for everyone?
New technology is helping to increase access to education for disabled people, but can one system please everyone?
The days of relying on printed worksheets and copious note-taking by students in university lecture rooms are gone. Technology allows students to study in previously unimagined ways and places.
This has benefits for all students, but one of the biggest impacts has...
Disability Movement Leaders Published Manifesto for 2009 European Elections
European Disability Forum (EDF) made public its 2009 European Election Manifesto “Nothing about Disabled People, Without Disabled People” today, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The manifesto, which contains the EDF’s TOP 10 demands to make disability discrimination history, calls on politicians to assure equal access for voting and participation in...
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Scottish researchers to develop electronic 'passport' for disabled patients
Capability Scotland and Dundee University are joining forces to develop an electronic 'passport' to improve hospital care...
Dundee event marks World Aids Day
Young people in Dundee are encouraging others to learn more about Aids and what they can do to tackle the disease across the world.
Youth End Poverty Dundee is staging what it believes is the biggest event in Scotland to mark World Aids Day.
Talks, videos and information will be available at the Caird Hall before a candle-light vigil is held.
A list of demands for...
Monday, 1 December 2008
Deaf man wins £50K business award
This year's Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs has been won by a man whose company provides video conferencing for deaf people.
Andrew Thomson, from Grangemouth in Central Scotland, has been profoundly deaf since birth.
His company, Sign-now.com, is a web-based means of enabling deaf people to communicate with the hearing world.
Mr Thomson says he intends to...
Friday, 28 November 2008
Disabled people to monitor independence strategy
Campaigners have welcomed government plans for involving disabled people in the implementation of a strategy to improve independent living.The Independent Living Strategy was launched in March and is aimed at widening access to employment, transport, health and housing.
The government's latest plans were announced following a consultation held by the Office for Disability...
Rights act has untapped potential
There are still many areas where the potential of the Human Rights Act “remains largely untapped”, according to a new report* by a human rights body.The British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) released the report to mark the tenth anniversary of the act.
BIHR said it hoped the report would show the act was being used to make a difference to the everyday lives...
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Anger as censors put 12A on film for containing 'disabled themes'
Campaigners have hit out after censors put a 12A advisory on an award winning film for having 'disabled themes'.
The new comedy is one of few productions to feature disabled lead actors, and was designed to give youngsters an insight about life with an impairment.
But the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) said the 81-minute movie was only suitable for young people...
Disabled people 'bullied at work'
Disabled people are much more likely than non-disabled to be hit, injured, bullied and humiliated at work, groundbreaking research for the Equality and Human Rights Commission will reveal today.
In the first comprehensive survey of discrimination in the workplace, the commission found 11.6% of employees with an impairment or long-term illness experienced...
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Health treatment waiting times
Faster treatment times are consistently being delivered across Scotland, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said today after new statistics showed all of the current national maximum waiting times standards have been effectively met.
Today's statistics, released by ISD Scotland, indicate NHSScotland is delivering against the current maximum waiting times standard of 18 weeks for a first...
Cash for councils to build housing
Scottish local authorities are being invited to apply for a share of £25 million to help kickstart a new generation of council house building.
The Scottish Government and COSLA have pledged to ensure that support is focused on councils that are best placed to deliver much needed new homes quickly.
The measures will increase the supply of affordable housing, a key theme of...
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Government to involve disabled people in Independent Living Strategy
The Government will today announce plans for involving disabled people in the implementation and monitoring of the five-year, cross-government Independent Living Strategy.
Launched in March this year, the Strategy aims to increase choice and control, and promote greater access to housing, transport, health, employment and leisure opportunities for all disabled people.
A...
Local Income Tax
A majority of Scots think a local income tax is the fairest form of taxation.
Of the individuals who responded to the consultation, 55 per cent thought a local income tax, based on the ability to pay, was the fairest way to raise money to pay for local services.
The Scottish Government has today published an analysis of the consultation which finds:
- 55...
Combating poverty and income equality
A new framework aimed at tackling poverty and income inequality in Scotland has been launched by the Scottish Government today.
Supported by funding of £7.5 million, Achieving Our Potential sets out the joint approach of the Scottish Government and COSLA in the fight against poverty.
The framework outlines the key actions required by Government and its partners such as the...
Monday, 24 November 2008
Pre-Budget Report Appeal to Chancellor Darling
Autism campaigners in the United Kingdom are appealing for an emergency package of help and support to help families with autism during the recession. The UK Autism Foundation, an autism charity, has appealed to Chancellor Alistair Darling to reach out to parents, carers, children and adults with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome in his Pre Budget Report (PBR) released on Monday 24th...
Campaigners say convention delay could boost rights
Campaigners say the government's decision to delay ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities could be good news for disabled people.
Although the UK government was one of the first in the world to sign up to the convention, it will not become legally-binding until the government ratifies it.
Previously, the government had said that its intention was to...
Friday, 21 November 2008
Dying with dignity 'Laws establish rights, but devil is in the detail'
An Assisted Dying Bill which independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald plans to bring before the Scottish Parliament, after appropriate consultation, aims to enshrine the right to die in law.
Ms MacDonald has investigated the issues surrounding assisted dying and paid visits abroad to learn more about how it works. The fact that she herself has Parkinson's disease and has publicly stated...
Welfare plan 'may cause poverty'
Ministers should rethink or delay plans to force lone parents, disabled people and the long-term jobless to seek work, a senior government adviser has said.
Sir Richard Tilt said reforms in Wales, England and Scotland could 'push people into poverty' as unemployment rises.
From next week, lone parents will have to look for work once their youngest child is 12 or face losing benefits.
Work...
New waiting time target for hospital tests
Patients waiting for key diagnostic tests, including MRI and CT scans, will have even shorter waiting times from next year under a pledge to reduce the current nine-weeks maximum waiting time to six weeks by the end of March 2009.
Over the two years from July 2006 to July 2008, the number of patients waiting more than nine weeks for key tests fell from 10,638 to just two. NHS Boards achieved...
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) Annual Disabled Workers' Conference
The Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) held its 5th Annual Disabled Workers’ Conference at the Apex Hotel in Dundee on 1st and 2nd November and was chaired by Ken MacMillan, Secretary of Inverness Trades Union Council. The theme of the conference was “Active in the Workplace – The Union Makes Us Strong”.
The motion-based event, which was well attended by delegates...
Liz Sayce: Improving the skills of disabled people will reap huge rewards
Disabled people have a collective spending power of £80bn a year. Those companies that make use of all the talents and serve all our communities will be the most able to withstand the economic hard times.
Life in Britain has improved in many ways for disabled people over the last 20 years. But half of us are still not working (rising to 80 per cent of people with mental health issues)....
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Asylum-seekers “let down” by disability organisations
Disabled asylum-seekers and refugees do not receive enough support from disability organisations, which are often unaware of their rights and entitlements, according to a new report*.
The report also found that asylum-seekers face significant barriers to accessing statutory health and housing services and benefits.
The report, which examined the disability-related work of refugee...
Disabled People Must Not Pay for the Economic Crisis
The European Disability Forum, which is the voice of more than 50 million European disabled people, calls on the European Council, Commission and Parliament and other European institutions and all the governments of Europe to ensure disabled people and their families do not pay for the worldwide economic crisis by the reduction in their income, benefits, employment opportunities or in cuts in...
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Deprived Scots close access gap in higher education
Hundreds more students from deprived backgrounds are entering higher education as a result of efforts by universities and colleges to widen access, a new report suggests.
The trend has been welcomed as the first tangible signs the sector is finally getting to grips with the long-standing educational inequalities of Scottish society.
However, there has also been a corresponding decline...
Director's anger over comedy film's 'disability' warning
Disabled actors last night condemned a move by British film censors to label a new film featuring a disabled cast with a warning stating that the film contains 'disability themes'.
Special People, a British, feature-length film with a cast of mainly disabled actors playing disabled characters, was given the label by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) along with a 12A rating.
Monday, 17 November 2008
Grassroots work will lead to more disabled MPs, says Begg
A disabled MP has welcomed a parliamentary inquiry that will examine how to boost the number of disabled MPs.
But Anne Begg, a Labour MP, said the situation would only improve if disabled people were first encouraged to become grassroots activists.
She said: “It’s a huge issue but we will not address the under-representation unless you start at that [grassroots] level....
Disabled parking law wins backing
Proposed legislation which would see people fined for wrongly parking in accessible parking bays has moved a step closer to becoming law.
The plans, brought forward in a bill by Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, were given the go-ahead in principle from Holyrood's Local Government Committee.
Currently, 85% of disabled parking bays are not legally enforceable.
Ms Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton,...
Video
Inclusion Scotland has encouraged the participants in this film to speak in whatever way makes them feel comfortable and included.
We apologise if any misuse of language in the film causes offence.