Scottish Government’s employment action plan

In response to the Scottish Government publishing A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: employment action plan, Leonard Cheshire in Scotland’s Director Stuart Robertson said: 

‘We welcome the Scottish Government’s employment action plan and we share its over-arching ambition to create a Scotland that supports people with disabilities to flourish.

‘Whilst it is welcome that the employment action plan sets interim targets to reduce the disability employment gap, with a pledge to halve it by 2038 — we call on the Scottish Government to be far more ambitious in empowering people with disabilities to enter and remain in employment.

‘We know that 1 in 5 working-age people in Scotland have a disability and they can contribute a wealth of talent, experience and perspectives to the workforce — helping companies to grow and strengthening Scotland’s economic performance.

‘We welcome the Scottish Government’s ambition to lead by example with its commitment to set a target for the employment of people with disabilities within its own workforce.

‘We support the action plan’s collective approach with the private sector to break down the barriers preventing people with disabilities from entering and remaining in the world of work.

‘Our own research has found that one in five employers have reservations about employing people with disabilities and these attitudes persist. 

‘Until we bring about real societal change, we will fail to truly empower people with disabilities to play a full part in our economy and our society.’

Media enquiries

For further information please contact Andrew Ewen on andrew.ewen@leonardcheshire.org or call 0131 346 9040.