Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living

03/03/2026

Please take a few minutes to take our survey.

27/02/2026

Our Policy & Participation Lead, Joanne McGee, recently attended Scotland's Disability Summit 2026 at The Scottish Government .

The event brought together disabled people, organisations and decision-makers, focusing on turning lived experience into action and shaping a more inclusive Scotland.

At GCIL, we are committed to keeping inclusion, accessibility and rights at the heart of everything we do.

Joanne is pictured here with Jeremy Balfour MSP and Alison Johnstone MSP.



Image description 1: Two women , Joanne McGee from GCIL and Alison Johnstone MSP, stood in front of screens that reads 'Scotland's Disability Summit. Thank you for joining us.'

2. Joanne McGee from GCIL and Jeremy Balfour MSP , stood side by side in front of a concrete pillar at Scotland's Disability Summit 2026.

26/02/2026

We have been asked to share something from our friends over at Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland they recently launched their Choose Opportunity Campaign and are requesting signatures for their call to action. These signatures should ideally come from professionals. The deadline for Signatures is Thursday 5th March, 5pm.

By signing, you would be showing your support for the following calls to action, alongside your own organisations’ calls for the Holyrood election:

1. A Disabled People’s Access and Opportunities Bill which would include measures to improve accessibility, act on the cost of disability, and give disabled people the chances to reach their full potential. Measures such as:
• Creating a proactive accessibility body, with inspection powers, ability to enforce improvements and promote universal design principles.
• Introducing a Transition to Adulthood Guarantee for all disabled young people, offering them support they need to plan and achieve their goals.
• Abolishing non-residential social care charges.
• Creating a Cost of Disability Commission, which would report annually on the cost of disability, the effectiveness of Scottish Government and Local Authority interventions and advise on increases to financial support.
• Setting legally binding targets to reduce disabled people’s poverty and reduce the disability employment gap.
2. Increase financial support as a central part of efforts to reduce disabled people’s poverty.
3. Improve access to respite making sure that respite is available quickly when parents and carers need it.
4. Support more and better quality job opportunities for disabled people.
5. Fairer funding for charities, giving them more long-term certainty to meet rising costs and rising demand.

19/02/2026

Today we launch our Cost of Living 2026 survey: What is it like to live in Scotland as a disabled person?

Last year, disabled people told us about the difficult choices they were facing due to rising costs. This included high energy bills, increased housing costs, and the cost of essential equipment. Prices are continuing to rise, and there have been changes to benefits and services. We want to understand what has changed.

If you are a disabled person living in Scotland, please take part in our surveys on household finances, housing, work and education, and access to services. Your experiences will help us influence decision-makers and improve support.

Easy Read versions are available for all surveys.

Take part and share your views:
https://disabilityequality.scot/news/cost-of-living-survey-2026/

10/02/2026

A charity is calling for an immediate halt to floating bus stops, branding them “dangerous and life-threatening” for people with visual impairment.

10/02/2026

RNIB Connect Radio's Allan Russell learns how RNIB is creating opportunities for blind and partially sighted people to gain some work experience.

10/02/2026

05/02/2026

As part of our ongoing skills development within Voices at Work, some of our steering group members spent the morning with Project Manager, Stacey and SDS Development Team Lead, Will.

We focused on building digital communication skills using Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, and other tools to support participation, connection, and confidence with technology.

Participation is more than just being invited into a space, it’s about having the tools and support to be there in a way that suits you.

If you would like to take part in the Voices at Work project and help shape the experiences of disabled people in the workplace, then get in touch by DM or by email at Stacey.Highfield@gcil.org.uk



Image description 1: Three people sat behind a wooden table with laptops and phones. One man in a denim top and wearing glasses is sat on the left, a woman wearing a black top and glasses is in the middle, a second woman is on the right wearing a light top and has a headset with a mic on.

Image description 2: Two men sat at a wooden table, with a large blue water bottle ands a laptop and ipad on it. One man in a denim top and wearing glasses is sat on the right, another man is on the left in a light blue shirt.

Image description 3: Two steering group members sat behind a wooden table with laptops and phones. One man in a denim top and wearing glasses is sat on the left, a woman is on the right wearing a light top and has a headset with a mic on.

05/02/2026

Today, disabled people made history.

In a European first, disabled people took over the Scottish Cabinet, placing our voices, expertise and lived experience at the heart of government decision-making.

The Cabinet was co-chaired by First Minister John Swinney alongside the CEOs of Inclusion Scotland, Glasgow Disability Alliance and Disability Equality Scotland. Disabled People’s Organisations worked directly with Scottish Ministers to produce the Disability Equality Plan to address the barriers disabled people continue to face across employment, health, housing, transport and access to public services.

Discussions focused on disabled people’s employment and tailored employability support, accessible transport, Adult Disability Payment, social care and mental health. This was about practical change, not token consultation.

Inclusion Scotland CEO Heather Fisken said: "Today’s event has given the Scottish Cabinet a real opportunity to hear directly from Disabled People’s Organisations about what needs to change"

This takeover showed what meaningful co-production looks like when disabled people are in the room and setting the agenda. The challenge now is turning today’s conversations into action.

Find the Disability Equality Plan here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/disability-equality-plan/



Image Description: A light green graphic features the Inclusion Scotland logo at the top. Large bold text reads: “Scottish Cabinet Takeover,” with the subheading: “Today, disabled people made history.” Along the bottom are three organisation logos: the pink speech‑bubble logo of Disability Equality Scotland, the dark purple Inclusion Scotland logo, and the multicoloured circular logo of Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA).

03/02/2026

GCIL are proud to stand alongside our DPO colleagues at Inclusion Scotland , Glasgow Disability Alliance , Disability Equality Scotland and others at The Scottish Government Cabinet Takeover, where disabled people’s voices, expertise and lived experience were placed at the heart of government decision-making.

This powerful event saw Disabled People’s Organisations working directly with Scottish Ministers to progress the Disability Equality Plan.

At GCIL, we continue to champion inclusive decision-making and the principle that there should be nothing about us without us, ensuring disabled people are not just consulted, but are shaping policies that impact our lives.



[Image description: First Minister John Swinney stood behind a podium. He is wearing a grey suit, light shirt and grey tie and is wearing glasses. He us stood in front of tall windows and to the left is a grey wall.]

28/01/2026

Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living welcomes the publication of The State and Future of Social Work and Social Care Funding in Scotland. In particular the findings from the survey on disabled people and unpaid carers in part 3.

The report highlights the real-life impact of reductions to Self‑Directed Support budgets, showing that disabled people are losing choice and control over their care, while unpaid carers face increasing strain. Many respondents described inflexible, crisis driven support that undermines independence, wellbeing, and dignity.

GCIL’s 30th Anniversary Manifesto for Inclusive Living calls for rights-based, long-term funding, the abolition of unfair care charges, and the central involvement of disabled people and carers in decisions that affect their lives. The report confirms why these demands remain urgent.

We support the recommendations within the report.

1. Improve the use of data across the Self-directed Support system in line with Recommendation 4.2 of the Self-directed Support Improvement plan focusing on information, choice and quality of options.

2. Recognise the harm being caused to disabled people and unpaid carers and stop cuts to direct payments immediately.

3. Where cuts have been made without appropriate assessment of potential harm, or the involvement of disabled people and unpaid carers, reinstate these direct payments immediately.

4. Undertake equality impact assessments of cuts to date, to understand the impact of cuts across specific groups of people accessing direct payments, including those whose voices may not have been represented in this research.

5. Prioritise the reform of eligibility criteria nationally, in line with commitment laid out in the COSLA and Scottish Government Joint Statement of Intent.

6. Prioritise the reform of complaints procedures, prioritising a fair, effective and consistent approach to complaints and redress with appropriate and timely access to advocacy .

7. Stop non-residential social care charging nationally and locally to ensure that disabled people are not excluded from accessing social care, and pushed further into poverty.

8. Re-align practice around direct payments to existing statutory duty and best practice guidance, focusing on enabling flexibility in the use of direct payments and increasing transparency and accountability as per SDS Standards.

9. Invest in a rights-based approach to budgets, recognising the multiple marginalisation of disabled people and unpaid carers.

Independent living is not a privilege; it is a human right. GCIL will continue to champion a Scotland where disabled people and their carers have the resources, choice, and voice they need to live full, inclusive lives.

[Image description: White background with a speech rectangle in a light blue frame. Royal blue speech quotations on the upper left hand side and royal blue GCIL logo In the middle reads "Independent living is not a privilege; it is a human right. GCIL will continue to champion a Scotland where disabled people and their carers have the resources, choice, and voice they need to live full, inclusive lives."]