Glasgow Disability Alliance
GDA is a disabled people-led organisation (DPO) controlled by our 5500+ disabled members.
We are the largest groundswell of disabled members in Europe and a leading, celebrated example of a grassroots community of identity driving improvements to disabled people lives in parallel with wider changes to policies, services and society.
GDA Membership
Our free, accessible learning and events:
- Bring people together
- Build confidence and connections
- Unlock opportunities to participate, contribute, and use your voice
- Transport, personal assistance, and communication support provided
Membership is free!
Join GDA for updates on all our events and opportunities.
Our vision is a world where disabled people participate fully and lead our own lives with our human rights upheld, connecting with peers and opportunities; contributing to families, communities and wider society on a full and equal basis alongside non-disabled people.
Our mission is to promote equality, rights and social justice with and for disabled people and we do this through programmes which build confidence, connections and capacity of disabled people.
Our programmes support disabled people and those with long term conditions across Glasgow – you do not need to be a member to take part.
Over the last 3 years, GDA has transformed our delivery model to respond to the urgent and pressing needs of disabled people. Programmes are now all available online, by phone and in person.




GDA Response to Scottish Government’s ‘A Human Rights Bill for Scotland’ Consultation
Read our response here: https://gda.scot/resources/gda-response-to-scottish-governments-a-human-rights-bill-for-scotland-consultation/ We strongly support the incorporation of all of our international humanrights treaties, in particular the UNCRPD, into Scots Law. Building…
Read MoreFM announces re-opening of ILF and commends GDA members in Programme for Government Speech
GDA members welcome the FM’s announcement yesterday during the Programme for Government to reopen the Independent Living Fund on a phased approach within the next…
Read MoreDPO Movement in Scotland warns First Minister that “disabled people are dying of poverty”
Disabled People’s Organisations in Scotland wrote to the First Minister on the 4th September 2023, to urge him to use the new parliamentary session to…
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Browse our resources
GDA and Scottish Women’s Budget Group – Briefing Paper November 2023
PublicationGlasgow Disability Alliance’s Triple Whammy report showed that ‘For disabled women, the inequality, exclusion and discrimination already faced as a disabled person, and as a woman, have been triple-charged by the unequal impacts of Covid-19’.
The Scottish Women’s Budget Group have worked with members of Glasgow Disability Alliance to use gender budgeting tools to look at how these structural inequalities impact disabled women, how the current cost of living crisis is exacerbating theses inequalities and how the actions taken to address the crisis are impacting.
Between May and July 2023 SWBG & GDA carried out a survey with GDA members to identify how they were being impacted by rising costs. In total, 103 disabled women responded to the survey.
The findings show that disabled women continue to feel the strain of the situation created by the pandemic while simultaneously experiencing the unequal impact of the cost-of-living crisis
Download NowGDA Response to Scottish Government’s ‘A Human Rights Bill for Scotland’ Consultation
PublicationWe strongly support the incorporation of all of our international human
rights treaties, in particular the UNCRPD, into Scots Law. Building a
framework of strong rights, duties and accountability, with adequate and
meaningful access to justice, is a vital step to stop the decimation of
disabled people’s human rights that has been called a “human
catastrophe” by the UN itself.We welcome the long-awaited consultation on the Bill as a step towards
human rights law in Scotland and following through on the commitment
to enshrine UNCRPD into Scots Law, made in the last parliamentary
session.As outlined in our response, while we welcome many of the proposals within the
bill, we have concerns about the limits within the current proposals to
protect disabled people’s human rights. In particular, the model of
incorporation needs to place a stronger duty to comply on as many
rights of possible within the UNCRPD.Download NowDPO Movement in Scotland Letter to First Minister warns that “disabled people are dying of poverty”
PublicationDisabled People’s Organisations in Scotland wrote to the First Minister on the 4th September 2023, to urge him to use the new parliamentary session to reset his relationship with disabled people and our organisations.
More importantly, we asked the First Minister in Scotland to prioritise disabled people in Scotland by asserting his leadership to drive forward an Immediate Priorities Plan to tackle the poverty and inequalities which are blighting lives, eroding rights and leading to poorer life outcomes for disabled people, including dying in higher numbers.
The letter was written by GDA and supported by Inclusion Scotland, Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living, Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living, Self-Directed Support Scotland, People First Scotland and Disability Equality Scotland.
The First Minister must use the new programme for government as an opportunity to show his commitment to prioritising disabled people in his policies and tackling the rife poverty and inequalities we are facing.
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