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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