Confident, Connected, Contributing

GDA’s response to the National Care Service (Scotland Bill) is the result of a series of events and discussions with GDA’s Social Care Expert Group, meeting online and in person, over a number of months. This response also draws on GDA’s significant experience of dialogue with disabled people over two decades, including members representing the views and experiences of younger disabled people, Black, Asian and minority ethnic disabled people and LGBT disabled people.

The response outlines GDA’s position that the NCS must be shaped to respond to people and communities who need and use social care services.

The Bill, future amendments and the service created must also be built on rights – both human rights and the rights to Independent Living enshrined in UNCRPD Article. These rights should be enforceable.

The success of the Bill and the National Care Service it seeks to create will be dependent on more detailed amendments that make specific commitments around the creation, implementation and delivery of the service on the ground by individuals, local care boards and accountability at a Scottish Ministerial level.

Fundamentally, we support a National Care Service and firmly believe that this must be done on a National basis. However, more legislative commitment is needed to create a human rights approach to social care as an investment in society.

This report from the Disability Workstream of Glasgow City Council’s Social Recovery Task Force, supported by a researcher from University of Glasgow’s Centre for Disability Research, makes recommendations to remove intertwining poverty and employment barriers affecting disabled people. The report describes the range of policy levers available at UK, Scotland and Glasgow levels to address disabled peoples’ poverty and reduce Scotland’s Disability Employment Gap.

The recommendations in this report will enable thousands of disabled people in Glasgow to be able to improve and secure their economic and social contributions to the city, to gain greater opportunities and higher incomes. Ending poverty and removing barriers to work for disabled people will ultimately benefit everyone in the city.

Disabled people face barriers, inequality and poorer outcomes across all areas of life. These are inequalities that Glasgow City Council has the power to immediately mitigate and reduce – working with DPOs!

For decades, disabled people have been striving to influence change: to eradicate barriers, accelerate equality and realise our Human Rights. It is clearer now more than ever that disabled people’s equality will benefit the whole of society.