Jeremy Balfour Scottish Conservative MSP is calling for action to reduce and ultimately end Scotland’s disability employment gap.
The MSP for the Lothian region, who convenes the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Disability, spoke at Disability Agenda Scotland’s ‘Fairer Scotland for Disabled People’ parliamentary reception last week. The DAS alliance highlighted to attending MSPs that only 42% of people with a disability are in employment, compared with 73% for Scotland as a whole.
DAS, an alliance which comprises leading charities Action on Hearing Loss Scotland, Capability Scotland, ENABLE Scotland, RNIB Scotland, SAMH and Sense Scotland, wants to see realistic but ambitious targets to close the disability employment gap; more personalised employability support; and the public sector to lead by example in recruiting more people who are disabled.
The group also wants to see improved careers advice, more disability employment advisers and enhanced funding for young people in Lothian and across Scotland who are disabled to take up college and modern apprenticeship places.
Jeremy Balfour MSP said: “I’m pleased to support DAS’s call for greater personalised support as well as a concerted push by government agencies, specialist employability services, the public sector and other employers to create increased training and work opportunities to enable disabled people in Edinburgh and the Lothian region to fulfil their professional and career aspirations.”
Delia Henry, Chair of DAS, said: “Being in employment has both economic and social benefits for disabled people and, whilst some people are not able to work, others face barriers due to a lack of disability awareness in our society. We’re delighted that Jeremy Balfour MSP recognises more needs to be done to support disabled people in Edinburgh and the Lothians to gain jobs and help to eventually end the disability employment gap.”