Lothians MSP Jeremy Balfour has marked 25 years of the Disability Discrimination Act coming into force since it was introduced by the UK Government.
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP, who is also the Convener of the Parliament’s Cross-Party group on Disability says after a quarter of a century the Act was a monumental victory for people with disabilities, but says that there continues to be a fight to ensure a disability-inclusive society becomes a reality.
The Disability Discrimination Act, which came into force in November 1995, made it illegal for employers and service providers to discriminate against people based on their disabilities.
The Act was introduced within the UK Parliament by the Minister for Disabled People at the time, William Hague, on the back of a series of protests that sought to bring an end to the public narrative that disabled people were incapable of employment.
However, whilst there have been significant improvements to disability employment rates over the last 25 years, there remains a clear employment gap.
In Scotland the employment rates for disabled people are lower than the UK average, with only 46.9% of disabled people being employed last year, compared with 53.2% across the rest of the UK.
Scottish Conservative MSP, Jeremy Balfour, who himself has a disability, said:
“The passing of the Disability Discrimination Act 25 years ago was monumental for people with disabilities across the UK; it created a definite shift in the way that people with disabilities were treated, particularly within the work place.
“However, it would be a mistake to view that piece of legislation as the end of all struggles for disabled people.
“In Scotland in particular, there remains a large employment gap, more so than in England, and the Scottish Government and employers need to ensure that more is being done to get people with disabilities into work.
“We need to draw the same level of awareness of the need to create more inclusion and equality of opportunity within the work place for people with disabilities, as is currently being drawn to other protected characteristics.”
