A WARNING has been issued that a no-deal Brexit could be catastrophic for people with disabilities in Scotland.
Disabled people’s organisation Inclusion Scotland said fears are growing over the “potentially life-threatening implications” of the UK failing to strike a deal with the EU. The charity says people with disabilities in Scotland – one in five of the population – have been “nowhere in the room” in the UK’s planning for a no-deal, and that there has been no recognition of the likely impacts on them by the UK Government.
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Policy officer Susie Fitton said: “A no-deal Brexit could lead to chaos, privation and destitution for many people across the UK but disabled people are at heightened risk. They are more likely to be living in poverty, have been hardest hit by austerity – which the UN has said has led to ‘grave and systematic violations’ of their rights and face specific threats from a no-deal Brexit.
“Who is considering how food shortages might impact on disabled people who are already reliant on food banks, or who have special diets for example? Not all disabled people have health conditions but many do. What happens to disabled people who need medicines imported from the EU for their very survival?
“What about access to social care and healthcare if there are staffing shortages as a result of Brexit and what about the complete lack of safeguards for a whole system of current legal protections and social support systems that are underpinned by EU law?”
The charity says the Scottish Government has recognised that these issues are important and are particularly alive to the need to protect human rights in Scotland post-Brexit. However, it points out the Scottish Government has limited power to address some of most important issues Scots disabled people face and says the UK Government has completely overlooked disabled people.
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