Identifying barriers to accessing employment is a key interest of the Committee.
Statistics show that disabled people in Scotland have a lower employment rate than non-disabled people. This is known as “the disability employment gap”.
The Committee would like to understand what more can be done to reduce this and ensure disabled people can access employment.
The Committee undertook some initial work on the disability employment gap in 2023.
This included:
A letter with the Committee’s initial findings was sent to the then Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy. This letter, and the Cabinet Secretary’s response, can be accessed in the correspondence section.
The Committee agreed to undertake an inquiry to build on this initial work.
The Committee will consider:
The Committee previously undertook a call for written views. This ran from 20 December to 16 February 2023 and received 41 responses.
Additional written evidence from Enable
Additional written evidence from SAMH
Additional written evidence from DFN Project SEARCH
Additional written evidence from Scottish Commission for People with Disabilities
The inquiry was discussed at the following Committee meetings:
During the initial work, members of the Committee visited:
National Autistic Society Scotland
Members of the Committee intend to meet informally with more organisations and individuals over the next couple of months in addition to formal evidence sessions at Holyrood.
The Committee published its report on 11 October 2024.
Closing the disability employment gap in Scotland report
Closing the disability employment gap in Scotland: BSL video on YouTube
Closing the disability employment gap in Scotland: Easy Read version (5MB, pdf) posted 11 October 2024
The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during the inquiry:
Letter from the Minister for Employment and Investment, 10 December 2024
Letter from Skills Development Scotland, 28 June 2024
Letter from the Minister for Employment and Investment, 14 June 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 12 May 2023
Letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, 19 April 2023