THREE areas of Scotland have some of the highest percentages of children with disabilities in the UK and they and their families often face living in deprivation, a charity has warned.
Disabled children and their families in Dundee, Inverclyde and Glasgow face financial struggles as parents often have to give up work to become carers, says the charity Contact.
Its report, Caring More Than Most, reveals that Scotland (4.8 per cent), Northern Ireland (5.5 per cent) and Wales (4.4 per cent) have the highest percentage of disabled children and England at 3.7 per cent the lowest.
However there are big regional variations, with children with disabilities making up six per cent of the total in Dundee, 5.9 per cent in Inverclyde and 5.8 per cent in Glasgow, while the figure is 3.8 per cent in both East Lothian and East Dunbartonshire.
Contact says disabled children and their families often face major disadvantages.
Disabled children are twice as likely to live in families where there is no parent in paid work (34 per cent compared to 17 per cent of non-disabled children). This may be partly because one in five parent carers have to leave jobs to manage their caring responsibilities. Disabled children are more likely to live in households with no access to a car, in a home with no central heating and in overcrowded accommodation.
Meanwhile more than one-third of disabled children live in lone-parent households (compared with 24 per cent of other children).
Miriam Gwynne from Hamilton is among those parents who have had to give up work, due to the needs of her nine-year-old twins Isaac and Naomi, who are both disabled.
“I have a degree and have run my own business in the past but even part time work is now out of the question.
“I have no option but to rely on benefits as I need to be here for both my husband and the children,” she said.
“After-school care is not an option for children like mine and no employer would be able to give me all the time I need to attend to the needs of those I care for. Financially it is a huge struggle especially at times like Christmas.”
Contact is calling for help for the families of children with disabilities to be made a priority when the Scottish Government sets new child poverty targets.
Susan Walls, Contact manager in Scotland, said: “There is an unacceptable and marked difference between the quality of life and social and leisure opportunities available to disabled children and their families compared to those without disabilities in terms of housing, their economic situation and their employment status.
“This means parent carers are more likely to be managing on a low income, struggling without a car or central heating. Following the Scottish Parliament’s unanimous vote to set child poverty targets, our report makes clear that families with disabled children must be a priority because they are particularly vulnerable to living in poverty.”
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