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GDA members talking about the General Election 2024 manifesto asks.

GDA Chief Executive, Tressa Burke, gives evidence to the Scottish Covid Inquiry in November 2023.

"Over the last 3 years and 9 months, GDA has transformed our delivery model to respond to the urgent and pressing needs of disabled people as a consequence of the pandemic and now cost of living crisis. Programmes are now available in person or online, by phone and through hybrid delivery models too e.g. events.

During the height of the pandemic, funding flowed and worries about how to meet needs were removed. However, this reverted to more “normal” and draconian practises which disadvantage DPOs because of a lack of understanding of the additional supports disabled people need and related investment required to enable this.

Disabled people need now more than ever to be prioritised in policies and actions to tackle the pre-existing inequalities which were supercharged as well as the new ones created. We must ask ourselves as a country, what is our motivation, what is our capacity and what are the opportunities for change? Much of this will depend on political leadership and resources and if we can make progress on the motivation factor, the rest will follow. This will depend on building understanding of disabled people’s lives and working with disabled people and our organisations to build services and supports which ensure that disabled people are never again left behind, fearing for our very lives- not only because of a deadly virus but because of how devalued and dehumanised we are by society. This might seems dramatic and I’m afraid that is because it is. "