Question reference: S5W-28128
- Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 27 March 2020
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 30 March 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of the first annual progress report on its A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan.
Answer
The Scottish Government published its A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan Annual Progress Report on 30 March 2020. The report is available on the Scottish Government website in a range of accessible formats including Easy Read, BSL and audio file.
This report highlights some of the key successes in working to close the disability employment gap, including through support for business and enterprise, the publication of the Scottish Government’s Recruitment and Retention Plan for Disabled People, alignment of work and health agendas, and the establishment of our Public Social Partnership - created to develop and test solutions to the barriers employers may face in recruiting and retaining disabled staff.
The report also outlines the priority actions we propose to undertake in the coming year to continue to work towards achieving our ambition to at least halve the disability employment gap. This includes announcing that, in conjunction with the Department for Work and Pensions, we will establish an Access to Work stakeholder group to ensure that disabled people have a formal mechanism through which to shape and improve this vital support. We have acknowledged however that some activity may need to be reprioritised in light of the emerging COVID-19 response.