The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament will be scrutinising the Disability Commissioner (Scotland) Bill, introduced by Jeremy Balfour MSP. If adopted it would establish a commissioner, who would be expected to promote and safeguard the rights of disabled people. The committee want to hear views on the proposals in the Bill before it takes public evidence.

The Commissioner’s primary purpose will be to promote and safeguard the rights of disabled people.

The Commissioner would be expected to:

• advocate for disabled people at a national level, promoting awareness and understanding of the rights of disabled people
• review law, policy and practice relating to the rights of disabled people
• promote best practice by service providers and may also promote, commission, undertake and publish research on matters relating to the rights of disabled people
• have the power to undertake investigations into devolved matters if the issue relates to disabled people.

Click on this link for more information and to respond to the consultation: Disability Commissioner (Scotland) Bill

In particular, the Committee wants people to share their views on the proposal to establish a commissioner, the powers that the Commissioner would have and the involvement that disabled people should have in the Commissioner’s work.

The consultation will be open until Friday 17 May.

Karen Adam MSP, Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, said:

“With approximately one fifth of Scotland’s population defining themselves as disabled, our Committee welcomes any discussion on what can be done to ensure that their voices are heard and their rights are protected.

“Our newly opened consultation will help frame our scrutiny of the proposals in the Bill. What we hear from the public will define our evidence sessions and ultimately be reported back to the Parliament.

“We’re especially keen to hear what Scotland’s disabled community make of the proposals, which is why we are providing our consultation in a range of formats, including Easy Read and BSL.”