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…/Vr0xsihETwiwPwtlWsRrhw…
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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 transport planning tools you use Your input will help make Traveline Scotland better and easier to use for everyone! For full details and to sign up: https://www.tickettailor.com/…/disabilityequali…/1992971
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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 Scotland. These announcements may – if we are lucky – directly respond to the manifesto’s published recently by third sector organisations seeking change for various groups. Towards an Inclusive and Accessible Scottish Election in
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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 the current views of disabled people concerning travel within Scotland. This information will be used by Transport Scotland as they develop a successor to the ATF. So, we are seeking your help to ensure that the views of as
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Scotland’s Hidden Food Safety Crisis: Why thousands of people in Scotland Can’t Safely Identify Their Food Campaign coalition calls for braille food labelling as evidence reveals safety fears and daily indignities Alan’s hands were shaking as his family member checked the bag of chocolate mini eggs he’d bought for his transatlantic flight from America. The American version contained nuts – and Alan is severely allergic. “That could have been a very nasty surprise,” he says. “I could have been in serious trouble if I had discovered this the hard way whilst somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.” Alan, who has been
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Accessible Travel Framework: Transport Surveys You may already be aware that we are collaborating with Transport Scotland to find out disabled people’s views about different modes of transport. This research will feed into the development of the follow-up to the current Accessible Travel Framework – so it is very important that we get as much feedback from disabled people as possible. If you have not done so already, please complete a survey (or 2, or 3!) and let us know your experiences and views. The surveys are for any disabled person in Scotland – or someone providing support to a disabled
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A Festive Reflection: Twelve Things We Are Proud of in 2025 It is almost a tradition that at this time of year third sector organisations post a reflective blog on their past year. This normally highlights the significant challenges faced during the year, the challenging environment that they are working in and the impact on their members. Although we fully appreciate that disabled people are still negatively impacted on a daily basis across their lives, this year we thought we would challenge the usual third sector annual blog and reflect on what we have positively achieved during the past 12
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International Day of Disabled People: Small Wins, Big wins – The local Power of Access Panels On 3 December 2025, the world marks the United Nations International Day of Disabled People. This year’s theme is about creating communities where disabled people can fully take part and society becomes fairer. Advancing social development is not possible without the full inclusion, participation, and leadership of disabled people. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) states that disabled people have the right to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life. Measures must be taken to enable
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International Day of Disabled People: Celebrating Easy Read! Our Easy Read team at Disability Equality Scotland – Claire, Marit, and Shona – have been dedicated to creating Easy Read documents. They use plain English and pictures to make information clear and easy to understand. At the same time, our Training Team, Sonya and Lilly, have been helping organisations learn how to make their own Easy Read materials. About International Day of Disabled People On 3 December 2025, the world marks International Day of Disabled People. This is a day to: Recognise the rights of disabled people Highlight barriers to equality
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International Day of Disabled People: Celebrating Our Members and Why Your Travel Experiences Matter! On 3 December 2025, the world marks the United Nations International Day of Disabled People. This is a day to recognise the rights of disabled people, highlight barriers to equality, and encourage action to remove those barriers. This year’s theme is about creating communities where disabled people can fully take part and society becomes fairer. At Disability Equality Scotland (DES), we are especially grateful to our members and to all disabled people who share their experiences with us. Engaging with our members helps ensure we can
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