Inclusion Scotland have expressed Public bodies should use the 7 concerns that because disabled people National Standards for community are more likely to live in poorer areas, Engagement. These are good-practice there may be fewer community assets principles designed to support and available to them or these assets inform the process of community might be of lower quality which would engagement, and improve what make them harder and more expensive happens as a result. The 7 standards to maintain and manage. are Inclusion, Support, Planning, Working together, suitable methods for However, there is an opportunity here Engagement, and Communication. A for disabled people and our full explanation of the national organisations to take over assets in standards can be found here: order to provide our own services. Inclusion Scotland would like to see Participation in Public the law changed so that Community Decision-making Planning Partnerships (CPPs) include disabled people as Participant and People should be able to have their Empowerment Advisors who can bring say in decisions that affect them. The disabled people’s views and issues to Act allows the Scottish Ministers to the Partnership and take part in make laws so that public bodies community planning and decision named in the law have to let people making. Currently disabled people’s take part in some types of decisions. organisations and other community Disabled people have shown that they bodies must request involvement in the are interested in having a say in CCP, while statutory services are decision Inclusion Scotland’s automatically included. Including Highland project recent stakeholder people from equalities groups could survey asked how much time people improve outcomes for those were willing to commit to decision communities of interest. making. Overall 195 stakeholders Our Highland Policy and responded to it of which 58% were Engagement Project has engaged from disabled people and their with disabled people and other organisations. One finding of note is stakeholders (their organisations ‘of’ that half of disabled people, and almost and disabled people, and decision ‘for’ a third of DPOs were willing to give up makers) in the region to ask them what to four hours a month to influence could be done to improve disabled decision making. This contrasts with a people’s influence locally. national poll of the general population As a result of that engagement, we by Our Democracy where less than a were invited to a Highland CPP quarter of Scots responding were meeting to share three asks. One of willing to give up the same amount of the identified by stakeholders ‘asks’ time.
Inclusion Scotland have expressed concerns that because disabled people are more likely to live in poorer areas, there may be fewer community assets available to them or these assets might be of lower quality which would make them harder and more expensive to maintain and manage. However, there is an opportunity here for disabled people and our organisations to take over assets in order to provide our own services. Participation in Public Decision-making People should be able to have their say in decisions that affect them. The Act allows the Scottish Ministers to make laws so that public bodies named in the law have to let people take part in some types of decisions. Disabled people have shown that they are interested in having a say in decision Inclusion Scotland’s Highland project recent stakeholder survey asked how much time people were willing to commit to decision making. Overall 195 stakeholders responded to it of which 58% were from disabled people and their organisations. One finding of note is that half of disabled people, and almost a third of DPOs were willing to give up to four hours a month to influence decision making. This contrasts with a national poll of the general population by Our Democracy where less than a quarter of Scots responding were willing to give up the same amount of time. Public bodies should use the 7 National Standards for community Engagement. These are good-practice principles designed to support and inform the process of community engagement, and improve what happens as a result. The 7 standards are Inclusion, Support, Planning, Working together, suitable methods for Engagement, and Communication. A full explanation of the national standards can be found here: Inclusion Scotland would like to see the law changed so that Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) include disabled people as Participant and Empowerment Advisors who can bring disabled people’s views and issues to the Partnership and take part in community planning and decision making. Currently disabled people’s organisations and other community bodies must request involvement in the CCP, while statutory services are automatically included. Including people from equalities groups could improve outcomes for those communities of interest. Our Highland Policy and Engagement Project has engaged with disabled people and other stakeholders (their organisations ‘of’ and ‘for’ disabled people, and decision makers) in the region to ask them what could be done to improve disabled people’s influence locally. As a result of that engagement, we were invited to a Highland CPP meeting to share three asks. One of the ‘asks’ identified by stakeholders
BRIEFING-Community-Empowerment.docx