Disability equality plan

Ministerial Foreword

Scotland should be a place where all disabled people can live the lives they choose; with the support they need to do so. It should be a place where everybody is enabled to participate in society, access their rights, take advantage of opportunities, and thrive in their communities.

To achieve this vision, we are in no doubt that significant strides in tackling disability discrimination and increasing equality must be made. The Scottish Government’s commitment to develop a Disability Equality Plan was made in response to the huge challenges disabled people currently face. Throughout our engagement with Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) on this work, their message has been clear - disabled people are experiencing unprecedented hardship, deepening poverty, increasing social isolation and inadequate services. This must change urgently.

The 2025-26 Scottish Budget has prioritised action to address the multifaceted and complex barriers disabled people face, investing an additional £2 million to enhance the Disability Equality Plan. We want disabled people to know they are a priority for this Government, not by our words, but by our collective actions.

This plan represents the first significant step towards achieving the meaningful change that we are deeply committed to ensuring happens. It will embed disability competence throughout the Scottish Government so the needs of disabled people are increasingly considered, understood, and addressed from the outset of policy development and at every level of decision making. Working with DPOs, we will develop a Scottish Government workforce who can identify matters that impact on disabled people, and put policies, systems and services in place designed to respond appropriately.

We can confidently reassure disabled people that this plan will be fully implemented. We are putting in place various accountability measures to ensure we hold ourselves to account, so the plan can succeed. Crucially, and in the spirit of the transparency we are committed to, it will also enable DPOs to hold the Scottish Government to account at the most senior levels. As we move through the delivery of this plan and towards developing the next phase of a long-term approach, we will ensure that disabled people remain central to this work.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Scotland’s DPOs who work tirelessly to advocate for disabled people. We are especially thankful to the Short Life Working Group – Disability Equality Scotland, Glasgow Disability Alliance, and Inclusion Scotland – whose insights, determination, and commitment to disabled people were instrumental in the development of this plan.

With the Scottish Government’s commitment to furthering disability equality, and DPOs ably communicating the barriers disabled people face, and challenging us to find creative ways to tackle them, we are in no doubt that Scotland can become a country in which disabled people can thrive. We very much look forward to ensuring that aspiration becomes a reality.

Rt. Hon John Swinney

First Minister

Shirley-Anne Somerville

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice