Plea to free disabled from poverty trap

from The Scotsman]

AN MP has called on the people of Edinburgh to make better use of the skills of disabled people in everyday life.

Edinburgh West MP John Barrett said that the talents of so many people in the Capital were going to waste and this was a contributing factor to disabled people being twice as likely to fall into a poverty trap than able- bodied citizens.

Mr Barrett, who is the Lib Dem's new disabilities spokesman in Westminster, said: "Disability is an issue that is now likely to affect us all at some point in our lives.

"With a rapidly ageing population, many of us will have friends or family living with a disability in years to come.

"It is a human tragedy that disabled people are now twice as likely to live in poverty as non-disabled, while over half live on less than 60 per cent of the average person's income.

"With half of (the number of] disabled people not in work, we have to do much more to help people make the leap from benefits to work by removing the barriers in their way.

"The sad truth is that disabled people are too often treated as an afterthought by policy makers and the welfare system."