Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 20 November 2024
20 Nov 2024 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Improving Transitions for Young Disabled People
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all students with a disability, a long-term medical condition or additional support needs are supported as they study in further and higher education. As an initial step, we have opened up living costs support to disabled students who are studying in full-time, distance-learning courses and who are unable to study in campus-based courses because of their disability.
Universities operate independently of the Scottish Government, but each college or university has a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that students with disabilities, including those with long-term medical conditions, are not placed at a disadvantage. Scottish universities are covered by the public sector equality duty, which requires them to, among other things,
“report ... on mainstreaming the equality duty ... publish equality outcomes and report progress”
and
“assess and review policies and practices.”
The regulatory body for the Equality Act 2010 is the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and more detail of its work in Scotland can be found on its website.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The next item of business is a statement by Natalie Don-Innes on improving transitions for young disabled people. The minister will take questions at the end...
The Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise (Natalie Don-Innes)
SNP
Thank you for the opportunity to make this statement. I extend my thanks to members from across the chamber for raising the important topic of transitions to...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
The minister will now take questions on the issues that were raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for that, after which we will move ...
Roz McCall (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. The Scottish Conservatives still believe that improving outcomes for disabled people in their trans...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
As I said in my statement, I appreciate that it is disappointing that the strategy has been delayed, but it is for a very good reason. We have always been cl...
Pam Duncan-Glancy (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement and for agreeing to our request to give the statement. However, I am really disappointed with where w...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
I am sorry to hear of any instance of any child or young person not getting the support that they need. In relation to Ms Duncan-Glancy’s bill, it is quite c...
Karen Adam (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
SNP
It is vital that disabled young people have informed choice and control about the support provided to them. Can the minister say a bit more about how the Sco...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
Absolutely. I assure Ms Adam that, as with almost everything in my role, I believe that children and young people should be at the heart of decision making. ...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
I, too, welcome the minister’s comments about the need to bring disabled young people along on this journey with us. Following the Government’s statement of ...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
Absolutely. When we engaged more widely on the strategy between May and August 2024, we took a solution-focused approach to understanding what is working wel...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
The Scottish Government recently published its guidance on the use of seclusion and restraint. Transitions have just one mention in that guidance, in paragra...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
I would certainly be happy to discuss that with the member. I know that the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills is leading on that work, and we would ...
Audrey Nicoll (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
SNP
Although a lot of disabled young people will transition to college or to the world of work, many of them will go to university. What support is the Scottish ...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all students with a disability, a long-term medical condition or additional support needs are supported...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
A successful transition to adulthood is made far more likely if a disabled young person has had a successful experience in education. However, if every actio...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
If people feel that across the board, it will—absolutely—come back to us through our engagement. I have told members about the groups that we are engaging wi...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
Each week at our surgeries, we all meet constituents who are being failed because they are unable to properly access the support that they need when they are...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
I am confident that it is achievable. I highlight to the member that, although the Government opposed the bill, the committee that scrutinised the bill agree...
Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
SNP
The Scottish Government has made substantial progress in reducing the disability employment gap, but we know that that depends very much on third sector and ...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
I have already laid out how we have engaged with the third sector, and I will be very clear: I engage with the third sector on a daily basis. I understand th...
Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Con)
Con
A number of things seem to be missing from the minister’s statement and answers today, not least any meaningful metrics by which we can judge the success of ...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
Progress on the statement will be monitored and reviewed. The best judgement of whether the actions that we are taking are successful will come from scrutiny...
Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
It is important that children and young people receive all the support that they need to flourish and thrive, including children and young people with a disa...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
Absolutely. Scotland’s approach to supporting children and young people in their learning has inclusion at its heart. That is why, last week, we published th...
Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Con)
Con
I apologise again for arriving late in the chamber. I ask the minister to be honest with the chamber. A year on, we do not seem to have seen any progress w...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
On the member’s comments about what has happened in the past year, I have set out a range of areas in which I feel that we are seeing progress. I am happy to...
Martin Whitfield (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Roz McCall asked about funding. The children, young people and families early intervention fund, which is the vehicle through which the third sector is funde...
Natalie Don-Innes
SNP
I am not able to confirm that prior to the announcement of the budget on 4 December, as the member will know. However, I assure him that I engage with third ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
That concludes the statement on improving transitions for young disabled people. There will be a short pause before we move on to the next item of business, ...