On the day of the announcement of new Scottish Government guidance on loosening the lockdown restrictions, Inclusion Scotland published new evidence that disabled Scots shielding from Covid-19 are still not getting the vital support that they need to access food, medicine and other essentials.

The charity’s recent survey of disabled people across Scotland uncovered particular difficulties experienced by disabled Scots without an official letter telling them to shield, who still need to shield because of their high risk from the virus, or because they cannot follow physical distancing rules due to the nature of their impairment. Read more about the survey results in Third Force News

It’s important for policymakers to know whether that was because providers were struggling to deal with the new situation and whether things have improved, or not, so Inclusion Scotland has launched a  new follow up survey on social care support, which stays open until midday on Monday 27th July 2020. See Survey Monkey  This is a chance for disabled people to tell them by completing a short, anonymous survey.

You can also find easy read and plain text versions for downloading from the Inclusion Scotland   website, which you can then print, fill in and email or post to Inclusion Scotland.

Disabled people’s evidence will influence and push for action from decision makers at national and local levels by drawing attention to the effect the COVID-19 crisis continues to have on social care support and the need for reform across Scotland.  Locally based organisations will be able to see and use the data  for their local area to ensure action is taken and identify who needs to take it.