Photo credit: The Scottish Parliament

Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff gathered in Edinburgh on 20 February for the first Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) Regional Forum for the CPA British Islands and Mediterranean Region (BIMR). This event was organised by the CPA Scotland Branch and hosted at The Scottish Parliament. 

Delegates analysed a range of disability rights issues in breakout sessions on Inclusive Education, Social Care, Social Security, Transport and Voting. Another session focussed on encouraging more persons with disabilities to stand in elections. 

Delegates learned more about the accessibility work carried out by The Scottish Parliament, and attended a reception hosted by Hon. Jeremy Balfour, MSP, who is the Regional Champion for the CPwD network. Members of the BIMR CPwD Steering Committee also met at the beginning of the Regional Forum to set strategy for the year ahead.

Photo credit: The Scottish Parliament

The CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg participated in a panel discussion on accessibility audits at the CPwD Regional Forum. Many Parliaments find that an accessibility audit is a crucial step to be taken ahead of making changes to their facilities, ensuring that the right areas are being prioritised to maximise the impact of adjustments to their premises.

As part of its ongoing work in making Legislatures more accessible to persons with disabilities, the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) network is planning to publish guidance on conducting accessibility audits for the benefit of the CPA’s membership.

In October 2025, The Scottish Parliament invited the CPwD network’s Coordinator, Clive Barker, to observe their first accessibility audit to learn about the measures undertaken in assessing the Parliament’s access to persons with disabilities. The accessibility audit was part of a suite of recommendations arising from ‘A Parliament for all’ – the report of The Scottish Parliament’s cross-party Gender Sensitive Audit.

The CPwD Regional event was followed by Scotland’s Disability Summit 2026 hosted by The Scottish Parliament in partnership with the Cross-Party Group on Disability and was chaired by Rt Hon. Alison Johnstone, MSP, Presiding Officer.

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The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association connects, develops, promotes and supports Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of the enduring values of the Commonwealth. The CPA is an international community of around 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.

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