Month: November 2025

Group photo. Left to right: Gemma Lumsdaine, John Swinney, Gavin Macleod, Maree Todd and Stephen MacGuire. Gemma and John are holding a sign that says: I support the Scottish Disability Sport Call to Action to remove barriers to physical activity and sport.’

Scottish Disability Sport Urges MSPs to Take Immediate Action for an Inclusive Scotland at Scottish Parliament Photocall

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) met with MSPs to highlight the urgency of creating a fully inclusive Scotland at their Call to Action Photocall, hosted at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 20th November.  

SDS’s four-point Call to Action asks for organisations across Scotland to take urgent action to remove the significant barriers faced by people with a disability in accessing sport and physical activity. It follows the publication of a new national survey by SDS, which highlights the ongoing inequalities experienced by people with a disability and the impact this has on their quality of life.   

First Minister, John Swinney said: “It’s absolutely vital that we encourage more to participate in sport and there are so many ways in which we can make that possible. We’ve had a visit from some great individuals who are taking forward that work within our communities and I would encourage more to do so.”  

The national survey conducted in partnership with Queen Margaret University Centre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research (CHEARR) revealed that 40% of people with a disability in Scotland are worried about losing their benefits if they are seen to be more physically active. 

Paris 2024 Paralympic gold medallist, Stephen McGuire (boccia), Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby athlete, Gemma Lumsdaine and multi-Para athlete, Samantha Gough, attended the photocall to advocate for inclusion through their perspective of lived experiences.  

Gemma, who is also Sported’s EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) Lead, commented on the day: “I think it’s really important that MSPs hear first-hand from people with lived experience around their experiences of topics within the Call to Action.  

“This brings the need to life and also supports individuals to understand how they can make impactful change at Government level.”  

With nearly one in five respondents doing no physical activity each week, yet 73% expressing a desire to do more, the results from the survey highlight concerns around the benefits system, rising living costs, public transport and more.     

Maree Todd MSP (Minister for Drug & Alcohol Policy and Sport) pledged her support: “I’m supporting the Scottish Disability Sport Call to Action because I’m someone who really believes in the power of sport to change people’s lives and I want absolutely everyone in Scotland to be able to experience that.” 

Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, has been a valuable supporter of the Call to Action. He said: “Sport is for everybody and we should get rid of all barriers to allow everybody to participate, to watch, to enjoy sport and I hope the campaign is completely successful.” 

Paralympian Stephen MacGuire and Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby athlete Gemma Lumsdaine, head the Scottish Parliamentary photocall on the stairs inside the Scottish Parliament. MSP gather on the stairs with a selection holding sporting equipment (boccia balls, football, tennis racquet, basketball) whilst others hold signs pledging support for the SDS Call to Action.

SDS is indebted to Jeremy Balfour MSP for his support in arranging the Photocall. 

SDS CEO, Gavin Macleod said: “It’s vital that we continue to remind those in Government who can implement change why an inclusive Scotland benefits all. 

“Sport and physical activity is something most people take for granted yet a quarter of the population face several barriers to accessing it. 

“This four-point Call to Action lays out how organisations around Scotland can adapt their policies and strategies to lead on inclusive practice within the UK.” 

The four-point Call to Action outlines the necessary steps to creating a more inclusive and active Scotland that benefits all –  

Plan to Include –  

  • Reduce inequalities for people with disabilities through inclusive strategy, policy, development and proportionate funding, 
  • Invest in systemic change to remove barriers to accessible travel, affordable and accessible facilities and inclusive spaces. 

Deliver an inclusive whole system approach –  

  • Every person with a disability has the right to take part in quality inclusive physical activity, physical education and sport. 
  • A health and social care system that prescribes appropriate physical activity opportunities at every stage of the individual’s pathway. 

A benefits and social care system that equips individuals to be active  

  • Provide safeguards to reassure people with disabilities that being active will not negatively impact any government financial assistance. 
  • Those in receipt of Self-Directed Support in Scotland should be able and encouraged to use their budget to engage in physical activity and sport. 

Champion intersectionality through a person-centred approach 

  • Collaborate with partners across sectors to champion intersectionality within policy, strategy and development.  
  • Ensure the needs of people with disabilities with intersecting identities are considered and met by codesign with those with lived experience. 

 

Get involved and advocate for inclusion in Scotland by joining the conversation throughout Scottish Disability Sport Week (SDSW), next week (Monday 24th to Sunday 30th November).  

SDSW is a Nationwide celebration of getting active and involved in disability sport in Scotland. The campaign aims to highlight and promote the opportunities and the impact physical activity can have on individuals, communities, clubs and society.    

The week-long campaign aims to encourage people with disabilities to improve their wellbeing by being more physically active, in a way that suits them and it concludes just a few days ahead of the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with a Disability on the Wednesday 3rd December.   

More information can be found on the SDS website, including how you can participate in the conversation, and via the Briefing Paper.  

Headshot of Maria Lyle sitting on the ground with an indoor athletics track in the background.

People with Disabilities Need a Sporting Chance

By Maria Lyle

Glasgow 2026’s legacy must be a more physically active disabled community across Scotland

 

In less than a year from now, Glasgow will be abuzz once again with the colour, clatter and carnival atmosphere of the Commonwealth Games.

It is just over a decade since the city won plaudits for its hosting of the 2014 edition, with the Games’ federation’s chief executive Mike Hooper declaring them “the standout Games in the history of the movement”.

A slimmed down programme this time around shouldn’t diminish what promises to be another outstanding spectacle of sport, volunteering, and community spirit.

As a proud Scot and a Para athlete, it gives me particular pleasure that Glasgow 2026 will boast the largest Para sports programme of any Commonwealth Games to date.
It builds on the positive legacy of Birmingham 2022, which saw more Para sports fully integrated into the Games programme than ever before. Nearly 400 Para athletes from 31 nations participated in 43 Para sports events across eight sports.

So far, so positive. But without wishing to detract from these clear signs of progress, the truth is that people with disabilities still face significant impediments to sporting participation.

A new national survey conducted by Scottish Disability Sport and Queen Margaret University Centre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research sheds light on the complex barriers faced by people with a disability when it comes to engaging in sport and physical activity.

This is something of a specialist subject for me – given my own experiences and those of my teammates, friends and colleagues – but even I was shocked at some of the findings, one-in-five respondents admitted to doing no physical activity at all.

Three-in-four disabled people (73 per cent) expressed a desire to do more but more than two-in-five are worried that their benefits will be removed if they are seen to be more active. Given some of the attitudes and opinions aired during the ongoing public discourse on welfare reforms, those fears are entirely understandable but a source of deep frustration.

The research also found that over 70 per cent of people with disabilities believe that public transport is not an acceptable option for them, therefore alternatives like the Motability Scheme are lifesavers for those with disabilities to be involved in sport and physical activity.

Sport has had such a positive impact on my life, physically, mentally, socially and emotionally. Training and competing at an elite level is a privilege but it’s no easy ride and I’ve learned as much from the lows as I have from the highs. I wouldn’t change my experience for the world, but I have no doubt sport would have played an important role in my life even if I had never been particularly competitive.

As such, I find it upsetting that so many people like me are being deprived – or are depriving themselves, for fear of losing essential benefits – of opportunities to experience the benefits of physical activity and sporting participation.

These findings highlight urgent priorities Scottish society must address, including cost-of-living factors, the benefits system, social security barriers, public transport, urban and rural challenges and intersectionality. Policymakers must commit to safeguarding benefits for those who are physically active, rather than penalising them.

We need to amplify the voices of disabled people to promote evidence-based decision-making across sport, health, education and social policy. And that’s why Scottish Disability Sport recently published a four point Call to Action for organisations across Scotland.

The power of sport works wonders for individuals, communities, cities, countries and continents. I can’t wait to see the impact of the most Para-friendly Commonwealth Games ever, but unless its legacy is a more physically active disabled community across Scotland, it can’t truly be considered a standout success.

Maria Lyle sprinting on an athletics track. She is wearing Great Britain kit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maria Lyle is a Paralympic (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020), World, Commonwealth and European medallist in the 100m and 200m T35 events. She is a disability and mental health advocate, currently working as an Active Schools Coordinator in East Lothian

More information about Scottish Disability Sport’s four-point Call to Action, can be found here. 

View the key findings of the National Survey here.