Meeting of the Parliament 05 March 2026 [Draft]
I thank Jeremy Balfour for lodging the motion. When I attended the disability summit with him a fortnight ago, it was lovely to see so many adjustments across the Parliament, from ramps around the building to live captioning throughout the event at the front of the chamber. It would be wonderful to see such adjustments being made, and disabled people from across Scotland taking their place in the chamber, on a more regular basis, but, sadly, a lot more needs to be done by political parties, Government and society at large if that is to become a reality.
The behaviour that we saw at First Minister’s question time, which has been evident in many recent FMQ sessions, which targets people—mostly those with hidden disabilities—who claim benefits and tars neurodivergent and mentally ill people with allegations of fraud without knowing their personal circumstances sets us back. I am deeply concerned by that level of completely disgraceful targeting, which today involved a named disabled woman who does not sit in this Parliament and who was, therefore, unable to reply. That is never acceptable. As well as sending a message to the person who is targeted, it tells every neurodivergent activist, employee or constituent out there that they are deserving of suspicion and undeserving of holding office. We must do better.
I am delighted that some of my constituents, including one with autism, attended last month’s summit. It was a long way for my constituent to travel, but he has a lot to offer policy making, as many disabled people do. In the past 48 hours, there has been a great deal of negative attention on disability, which has included screenshots flying around on social media of the types of adjustment that a disabled person who claims ADP might need, captioned with comments such as, “Does this sound like an MSP?” It has even been highlighted in newspapers that an ADP claimant has been seen enjoying life and shopping with her friends, as though that suggests that she cannot be disabled.
We belong in public life and deserve to enjoy our lives as much as anyone else. I wish that the symptoms of autism did not trigger such a visceral, judgmental response. If the public reaction is that a neurodivergent person does not sound like an MSP, that is our failure, not the failure of the neurodivergent person.
Of course that person can be an MSP. Of course someone who is capable with adjustments in place is just as deserving of taking up a role as someone who requires none because the environment has already been designed with them in mind. Of course the necessary adjustments should then be put in place and the individual should not be out of pocket, especially when adaptations often cost eye-watering amounts of money.
If someone needs a ramp to take up the office of Presiding Officer, there should be a ramp. If someone needs Braille to press the right buttons in the chamber, that must be provided. If someone needs to claim benefits to pay for adjustments to manage their autism, they should be supported and welcomed into the workplace.
I regret that we will lose so many of the disabled MSPs who sit in the Parliament, regardless of what the election results might be, because so many are not seeking re-election. However, it does not surprise me, and we need to do better. I have sent a list of suggestions to the Presiding Officer that could make the Parliament and the induction for MSPs more accessible.
I hope that this debate, Jeremy Balfour’s words and the many people who are crying out for change are listened to and that more disabled people are able to stand for and take up seats in the Parliament in the future.