Society backs ministers' approach to disability rights

The Scottish Government's plan for achieving compliance with standards for disability rights has been praised by the Law Society of Scotland.

The Society was responding to the proposals in A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People, the Government’s delivery plan for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The 93 actions to which ministers have committed to take forward during the current parliamentary term include reviewing policies on guardianship and considering circumstances in which supported decision-making can be promoted, as well as partnership working on changes to the Adults with Incapacity Act, in relation to deprivation of liberty.

Adrian Ward, convener of the Law Society’s Mental Health & Disability Committee, commented: “The Scottish Government is to be congratulated on the breadth and thoroughness of its groundbreaking approach to the challenge of delivering 'A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People'. We are pleased that the Government substantially widened the scope of an existing law reform project following our calls for a wider review, and we welcome their commitments in the paper."

He added: "We also welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to work with the Law Society of Scotland in promoting a specialism in disability discrimination law. We look forward to continuing to work with the Scottish Government towards realising these commitments."

Click here to view the Society's full response.