Our exhibition at the Scottish Parliament demonstrates impact of Social Security Independent Advocacy Service
We were offered the opportunity to set up an exhibition in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament for 3 days in April, sponsored by Collette Stevenson, SNP MSP for East Kilbride and chair of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.
The exhibition demonstrated the impact of the Social Security Independent Advocacy Service. For example, we:
- Provided MSPs with information on VoiceAbility and our national role in providing the Social Security Scotland Independent Advocacy Service.
- Enabled MSPs to find out more about the work to deliver free and independent advocacy support for disabled people when they are applying for and accessing Social Security Scotland assistance.
- Provided Members with the opportunity to meet with key staff from VoiceAbility.
Alexandra Adair, VoiceAbility Team Leader and Collette Stevenson, MSP.
We spoke to several MSPs and organisations throughout the 3 days, including Bill Kidd, SNP MSP for Glasgow Anniesland; Myles Briggs, Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian, Ben Macpherson; SNP MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith; and Claire Baker, Scottish Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.
Conversation highlights included our chat with Councillor Marie-Clair Munro about current transport issues surrounding disabled people and unpaid carers in Edinburgh. She is meeting with MSPs next week to discuss this.
MSPs were also particularly interested in our self-advocacy toolkits, which can help people access benefits from Social Security Scotland without needing to talk things through with an advocate.
You can learn more about the Social Security Independent Advocacy Service on our dedicated Scotland pages.