We have put together our Manifesto for the upcoming General Election on 7 May 2015. We hope you find this manifesto useful.

• document SDEF Manifesto 2015 (63 KB) Word
• pdf SDEF Manifesto 2015 (142 KB) PDF
• audio SDEF Manifesto 2015 (3.77 MB) Audio

We ask that all political parties commit to the following:

Access to Employment

Improve work opportunities for disabled people by making Disability Equality integral to the working environment

• Increase provision of practical support to disabled people to improve skills and confidence
• Encourage employers across all sectors to provide Disability Equality Training to increase awareness of disability equality and improve employment opportunities for disabled people

Access to information

Ensure that people who require communication support can reach their full potential within society and have complete access to information

• Develop and implement an inclusive communication strategy to increase good practice in the delivery of accessible formats for all public sector bodies
• Provide access to funding for communication support provision (BSL/Notetakers, hearing loops) in community settings to increase local participation

Access to Housing

Review accessibility standards for proposed development of new homes to ensure availability and flexibility for disabled people on where they live

• Consider the application of a levy to all new dwellings and ring-fence funds raised to develop new and improved barrier-free housing
• Consider consolidating Local Authority ‘mapping’ processes to create a unified Scotland-wide adapted/accessible housing register. This will ensure more efficient use of available housing and increase flexibility for disabled people on where they live

Access to Healthcare

Use some of the additional NHS funding to improve accessibility and personalised care for service users

• Ensure healthcare facilities have a clear statement of access to improve information for disabled people on accessibility before they travel
• Provision of NHS-wide standard training on disability equality to increase awareness
• Review current in-patient care information to allow disabled people to provide information about their needs within their medical records

Access to Equality

Make Scotland more accessible by increasing engagement with access-related groups and organisations 

• Engage with the Access Panel Network to improve access and equality through the provision of access audits and guidance in each locality
• Ensure that access and equality are built into all Local Authority planning processes by engaging with local disability groups from the outset

Access to a Fairer Society

Remove unfair taxes to protect disabled people’s right to a fairer standard of living for themselves and their families

• Acknowledge the value of Scotland’s unpaid carers by increasing their allowance and enabling them to continue providing support
• Abolish the “bedroom tax” and the roll out of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to prevent further injustice of disabled people's increased living costs and reduced benefits

Access to Education

Ensure that disabled children have equal access to education

• Improve provision and monitoring of clear and publicly available Accessibility Strategies in schools to ensure that disabled students can enjoy continuous and equal access to education in accordance to their needs
• Improve awareness of co-ordinated support plans and the duty of the school to assist in preparation plans for disabled pupils during their transition from primary to secondary, and to tertiary education
• Improve disability awareness and equality through standardised training for staff and introducing an equality curriculum component for children