Young Carers Action Day – Supporting Young Carers Through Inclusive Communication Young Carers are children and young people who give care and support to a disabled person, often somebody from their family. But it is important to remember that carers can also be disabled people, and may need support themselves. 11 March 2026 is Young Carers Action Day. This year’s theme is Fair Futures for Young C...

Join our free webinar on Accessible Design Basics Disability Equality Scotland is hosting a free webinar on accessible visual design on Thursday 2 April 2026, from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. Accessible design helps make information easier for everyone to use, including disabled people. Small changes to layout, colour, structure and formatting can make a big difference to how people understand and engage w...

Happy International Women’s Day 2026: Women, Community and Access Panels Happy International Women’s Day! As a disabled woman I love International Women’s Day for the space it creates to celebrate the contribution of women to our world. This year’s theme is Give to Gain, and when I was asked to write this blog, I found myself thinking about Access Panels. That might be because I had just come from...

Easy Read versions published for Scottish Government Family Law consultation We have produced Easy Read versions of a new Scottish Government consultation on Family Law, helping more people understand the proposed changes and share their views. Family law affects many aspects of people’s lives, including relationships, separation, marriage, and legal rights after a partner dies. Making this inform...

Cost of Living 2026: What is it like to live in Scotland as a disabled person? In 2025, Disability Equality Scotland asked disabled people how the cost of living crisis is impacting their lives. We found that: 43% of disabled people said it costs a lot of money to run the independent living equipment they need to survive; 55% spend more than 20% of their net income on their energy bills. This mean...

An update about our CEO, Lyn Pornaro Today we announce that our CEO, Lyn Pornaro, is moving on from Disability Equality Scotland (DES) at the end of April. Over the past three years, Lyn has been instrumental in the growth and development of DES and leaves the organisation in a secure position for the future. Zara Todd, Convenor, shared: “On behalf of myself and the rest of the Board, we would lik...

Easy Read Basics Webinar with Disability Equality Scotland! Want to make your information clearer and more inclusive? Join Disability Equality Scotland for a free webinar on Easy Read basics on Tuesday 27 January, from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. We will explore: what Easy Read is how to write it well why it matters for accessible communication Book your free place: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg&#823...

Have Your Say on Traveline Scotland! Join us online on Wednesday 4 February 2026 from 11:00am to 12:30pm to share your experiences of the Traveline Scotland website and app. We want to hear from you about: How easy it is to find journey times, costs, and accessibility information Using multiple transport types in one journey (train, bus, taxi…) Live updates and travel disruptions Any other transpo...

New Year, New Opportunities – But No Change from Scottish Political Parties With the arrival of the New Year, the leaders of the Scottish Parliament’s largest political parties have begun to make their pitches to voters ahead of this May’s Holyrood election. Over the coming weeks and months there may well be new promises and new policy annoucements covering a range of issues affecting those in Sco...

Closing Date Extended: What Are Your Views on Community Transport and Active Travel? The Accessible Travel Framework (ATF) was published in 2016 to: support disabled people’s rights by removing barriers and improving access to travel and; ensure disabled people are fully involved in work to improve all aspects of travel. Disability Equality Scotland (DES) is working with Transport Scotland to seek...