Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Clinical Governance Question: Are patient and service user views taken into account in the planning and delivery of services? YES/NO Your Feedback: 75% (21 respondents) answered no as they felt patient and service user views are not taken into account in the planning and delivery of services. 25% (7 respondents) answered yes. Your Comments: “Having been a senior clinician and manager in the NHS for many years I can safely say NO! A manager is a manager, a clinician is a clinician – the two are in direct conflict.” “I think
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Accessible Buildings. Question: Do you think more should be done to improve the accessibility of public buildings in Scotland? YES/NO Your Feedback: 98% (59 respondents) answered YES that more should be done to improve the accessibility of public buildings in Scotland?. 2% (1 respondent) answered No. Your Comments: “It’s about time the government brought in new legislation for access to many buildings that restricts people in wheelchairs enjoying the same services as the able bodied.” “More consideration of those with physical disabilities that can walk but who struggle to do
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Personal Care . Question: Do you think personal and nursing care should be free for disabled people under the age of 65? YES/NO Your Feedback: 95% (36 respondents) answered YES that personal care should be free. 5% (2 respondents) answered No. Your Comments: “It is everyones right to live a life with dignity, respect with choice and independence (Equality Act 2010) therefore it is only right and proper that all disabled people receive free personal and nursing care free at the point of delivery and that the care given meets
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Accessible Parking. Question: Do you think parking, including parking on pavements, at dropped kerbs and double parking is a problem in your area? YES/NO Your Feedback: 93% (28 respondents) answered YES as parking, including parking on pavements, at dropped kerbs and double parking is a problem in their area. 7% (2 respondents) answered No. Your Comments: “Aberdeenshire no longer has traffic wardens and the police do not have the time to ticket every parking transgression. Therefore it is now a “free for all” with people parking wherever they want with no fear
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About This Consultation Transport Scotland wanted your views on improving the management of parking across Scotland and making regulation more consistent. The consultation asked how Transport Scotland can improve the clarity of the laws of parking, what restrictions should be applied and the exceptions that should be granted. Transport Scotland also aimed this consultation to local authorities to ask them how they can deliver an integrated approach to managing parking, how we should tackle displacement of vehicles and support the town centre regeneration, as well as improving accessibility to all.    Your Responses We reported our members feedback to the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Carer’s Allowance. Question: Have You Applied for Carer’s Allowance YES/NO Your Feedback: 73% (16 respondents) answered No as they had not applied for Carer’s Allowance. 27% (6 respondents) answered Yes as they had applied for Carer’s Allowance. Your Comments: “Been in receipt of CA for several years now and being in receipt of qualifying benefits then and now found it a very straight forward process” “My main carer also works and because of their earning they are not eligible for any payment even though the provide care in the evening and
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Accessible Voting. Question: Do you think voting is accessible in Scotland? YES/NO Your Feedback: 67% (18 respondents) answered NO as they considered access to the polling station, travel to the polling station and also the accessibility of the ballot paper. 33% (9 respondents) answered YES that voting was accessible. Your Comments: “The “accessible” voting booths are not fit for purpose. The Shelf is too high, does not project far enough and the booth is not deep enough for most wheelchair users.” “Fairly good accessibility, but some venues not on bus routes.
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Accessible Taxis. Question: Since April 6 2017 have you, or someone you know, been charged extra when using an accessible taxi in Scotland? YES/NO Your Feedback: 81% (21 respondents) answered NO as they or someone they knew had not been charged extra for using an accessible taxi in Scotland since April 6 2017. 19% (5 respondents) answered YES and had been charged extra. Your Comments: “Cost is really not the issue here. Availability outside big towns and cities is the hurdle that wheelchair users must face on a daily basis.” “On
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about British Sign Language (BSL). Question: Do you think British Sign Language (BSL) should be taught in schools as a second language? YES/NO Your Feedback: 88% (38 respondents) answered YES and thought British Sign Language (BSL) should be taught in schools as a second language. 12% (5 respondents) answered NO. Your Comments: “Children should learn sign language from a very early age as it would help them to learn that all children are not the same.” “I feel the option should be there, partly to improve the ‘inclusion’ of the Deaf
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Brexit. Question: Do you think disabled people in Scotland will be better or worse off as a result of Brexit? BETTER/WORSE/STAY THE SAME Your Feedback: 66% (25 respondents) said that disabled people in Scotland would be worse off because of Brexit. This compared with 5% (2 respondents) who said disabled people in Scotland would be better off because of Brexit. The remaining 11 respondents (29%) stated that things would stay the same. Your Comments: “The economy is likely to shrink resulting in even less money for public services and thus less
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Question: Have you, or someone you know, lost a motability vehicle as a result of transferring from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) YES/NO Your Feedback: 38% (14 respondents) said YES, that they or someone they knew had lost a mobility vehicle as a result of transferring from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payment (PIP). 62% (23 respondents) said NO, that they or someone they knew had not lost a mobility vehicle. Your Comments: “By transferring to PIP from low DLA
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about mental health. Question: Do you think the Scottish Government’s Mental Health Strategy will improve mental health services in Scotland over the next ten years? YES/NO Your Feedback: 57% (20 respondents) said YES they do think the Scottish Government’s Mental Health Strategy will improve mental health services in Scotland over the next ten years. 43% (15 respondents) said NO, they do not think mental health services will improve. Your Comments: “I hope that the money is spent on ensuring that services are accessibly locally rather than people having to travel a
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about accessible tourism. Question: Do you find it easy to find accessible holiday accommodation? YES/NO Your Feedback: 27% (11 respondents) said YES, that they do find it easy to find accessible holiday accommodation.  73% (30 respondents) said NO, they do not find it easy. Your Comments: “It is easy to find accommodation and over many years we have booked B&B, rented accommodation and hotels and only twice had refusals because of a guide dog” “I have only found 2 places in Scotland with any type of standing aid (which I need to
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about planning applications. We had a tremendous response and received lots of interesting comments. Question: Since 2014, have you needed to make any changes to your home because of your disability? YES/NO Your Feedback: 65% (17 respondents) said YES, that changes had been made to their homes since 2014 because of their disability. 35% said NO, changes had not been made to their homes. Your Comments: ”Plan and then try and have it done under your own steam as it may be cheaper and you’ll get what you want rather than
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about planning applications. We had a tremendous response and received lots of interesting comments. Question: Do you think local authorities should consult with Access Panels on all local planning applications? Your Feedback: 96% (46 respondents) said YES that local authorities should consult with Access Panels on all local planning applications, 4% (2 respondents) said NO, they should not. Your Comments: ”I think LA’s should consult with local Access Panels. Our Panel sees plans all the time and makes comment. This is crucial for public buildings” “I am a fervent advocate in
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about  Accessible Travel. We had a tremendous response and received lots of interesting comments. Question: Are there barriers which prevent you from travelling on public transport. YES/NO Your Feedback: 90% (28 respondents) said YES they had experienced barriers which prevented them travelling on public transport because of their disability. 10% (3 respondents) said NO, they had not. Some comments: ” A severe lack of wheelchair accessible taxis away from town and city centres.” “Trains can be good and staff are helpful. Disability awareness training is important as it makes a real difference
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about Shared Spaces. We had a fantastic response and received lots of interesting comments. Question: As a disabled person, do you agree with the idea of Shared Spaces? YES/NO Your Feedback: 12% of the 36 respondents answered YES that they did agree with the idea of Shared Spaces. 88% said NO, they did not agree with Shared Spaces. Some comments: “Pedestrians and vehicles are not a good mix and imagine the chaos with no traffic lights or road signs.” “Shared Spaces do not work well for people with a visual impairment
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about disability hate crime. We had a tremendous response and received lots of interesting comments. Question: Would you feel confident to report an incident of disability hate crime? YES/NO Your Feedback: 69% ( 33 respondents) answered YES that they would feel confident to report disability hate crime.  31% (15 respondents) said NO, they would not feel confident. Some comments: “It is difficult sometimes for people without disabilities to understand the significance of hate crime incidents.” “The legislation’s so loose worded, it’s difficult to know what to report and what can be
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Thank you to everyone who completed last week’s poll about inclusive communication. We had a tremendous response and received lots of interesting comments. Question:  Do you think inclusive communication needs to be improved in public, private and third sector organisations?  YES/NO Your Feedback: 100% of the 32 respondents answered YES and agreed that inclusive communication needs to be improved in public, private and third sector organisations.
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About this Call For Evidence The Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee launched a call for written evidence as part of its scrutiny of building regulations in Scotland and the Committee wanted to hear your thoughts and experiences of these regulations.
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About This Call For Evidence The UK Government were looking for people to respond to their consultation called Making Lives Better: The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper. The UK Government want to help disabled people into work and support for people with health conditions; help employers get new employees and healthy workplaces and high quality health and care for everyone.
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The Scottish Government have agreed to write a new set of Standards for National Health and Social Care. These set out what we can expect when we use health and social services in Scotland.
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The Commission on Parliamentary Reform was launched by the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Government in October 2016. The remit of the Commission is to consider how the Scottish Parliament: Can increase its engagement with wider society and involve the public; Can clarify its identity, as distinct from the Scottish Government; and Can be assured that it has the rights ‘checks and balances’ to enable effective conduct of parliamentary business
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About this Call For Evidence On 10 August 2016 the UK Parliament launched an inquiry into disability and the built environment.
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The Scottish Government will be publishing a paper called ‘A New Future for Social Security in Scotland’. This will be published in March 2017. In that paper, the Scottish Government made a commitment to work with people across Scotland to determine how best to use the new social security powers which will be devolved by the Scotland Act 2016. The Scottish Government believe that there should be opportunities for everyone to participate in the debates and decisions that matter to them, regardless of their circumstances or backgrounds.
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