After the Ballots Are Counted: A Moment of Reckoning for Disabled People in Scotland

By Mark Gaffney, Head of Policy at Scottish Disability Sport 

The Scottish election has come and gone, and as manifestos are shelved (opinion is divided on the merits of manifestos) and negotiations begin, there is a familiar risk that disabled people once again become an afterthought rather than a priority. Yet this moment matters. How Scotland chooses to govern now will shape whether people with disabilities experience public life as something done with them—or something that continues to happen around them.

Across sport, health, education, social security, and civic engagement, disabled people have been promised inclusion for decades. What they have instead often encountered is fragmented provision, and policies that sound progressive but fail in practice.

Scotland is rightly proud of its sporting culture, but disabled people still face structural barriers to participation. Emphasis can often be placed on elite Parasport or “inspirational” stories, while grassroots provision struggles for sustainable funding. Accessible facilities remain few and far between, local engagement opportunities are fragile and sporadic, and transport continues to be a barrier in rural and deprived communities.

A post‑election reset should recognise sport as a public health and human rights issue, not a discretionary extra. Investment must prioritise inclusive local clubs and infrastructure, accessible leisure centres (both physically and from an affordability perspective), and paid roles for disabled coaches and leaders. Disabled people should not be guests in Scotland’s sporting system; they should help run it.    

Health: Closing the Gap, Not Managing It

Disabled people in Scotland experience poorer health outcomes, shorter life expectancy, and more difficulty accessing care than non‑disabled people. Long waiting times for assessment and treatment, particularly in mental health and neurodevelopmental services, are not abstract policy failures—they shape people’s entire lives.

The next parliamentary term must move beyond managing demand and focus on redesigning services around disabled people’s realities. That means co‑produced services, continuity of care, and genuine parity between physical and mental health. It also means recognising the social determinants of health: poverty, housing insecurity, and digital exclusion cannot be separated from health policy.

Education: Inclusion That Works in Practice

Scotland’s commitment to inclusive education is well established in principle, but far less secure in delivery. Many disabled children and young people still struggle to get the support they are legally entitled to. Families are often forced into adversarial processes simply to secure basic adjustments, while staff face rising workloads and shrinking resources.

Post‑election, there is a pressing need to rebuild trust. This requires properly funded additional support for learning, consistent national standards, and a renewed focus on transitions—from school to further education, training, or work. Disabled learners should leave the education system with qualifications, confidence, and genuine choices, not exhaustion from constant battles.

Benefits and Social Security: Dignity Must Mean Security

Scotland’s devolved social security system was founded on the language of dignity, fairness, and respect. For many disabled people, however, insecurity remains the defining feature. Assessments can still be stressful and opaque, and financial support often fails to keep pace with the real costs of disability, particularly during a cost‑of‑living crisis.

The next government has an opportunity—and an obligation—to strengthen trust in the system. That means reducing reassessments where needs are unlikely to change, ensuring advice and advocacy are available, and aligning benefit levels with the actual cost of accessible living. Dignity is not a slogan; it is felt in whether people can heat their homes, travel to appointments, or participate in community life.

Engagement and Democracy: Nothing About Us Without Us

Perhaps the most important post‑election test is whether disabled people are meaningfully involved in shaping decisions. Consultation is too often late, limited, or inaccessible. Engagement cannot be reduced to surveys and stakeholder events; it must involve ongoing power‑sharing.

This includes accessible voting and political processes, properly resourced disabled people’s organisations, and paid opportunities for participation. Lived experience is expertise, and Scotland cannot afford to keep sidelining it. Policies developed without disabled voices consistently fail to deliver.

A Choice After the Election

The election has produced a Parliament with renewed authority to act. The question is whether it will choose to embed disability equality across all portfolios or continue treating it as a specialist concern. Disabled people do not live single‑issue lives. Sport affects health; education affects employment; benefits affect participation. These connections demand joined‑up thinking and political courage. Taking an intersectional approach is critical to make progress for the most underrepresented in our sport and physical activity settings.

Scotland now faces a choice. It can tinker at the edges, celebrating small improvements while inequality persists. Or it can commit, decisively, to a Scotland where disabled people are visible, valued, and empowered—not as beneficiaries of goodwill, but as equal citizens. The ballots may be counted, but for disabled people, the real test of this election is only just beginning.