I’m calling on Aberdeenshire Council, and ultimately the Scottish Government, to urgently review and reverse policies that are leaving vulnerable disabled adults stranded in their homes and pushing unpaid carers to breaking point.

This is not a minor issue.

This is a matter of urgency.

My daughter, Lily, has Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy. She is non-verbal, cannot walk, cannot eat or drink independently and requires constant care. Her needs did not change when she turned 18; but everything else did.

The moment Lily crossed the line from “child” to “adult”, the support that had enabled her to live a meaningful life was stripped away almost overnight.

While Lily was at school she had structure, routine, transport, Saturday club, holiday club, friendships and a life beyond the four walls of our home. She was part of her community. Today, just 6 months later, her life has been changed beyond recognition.

Lily was allocated four days at Inverurie Day Centre when she left school; yet she cannot attend. Why? Because transport was removed under a blanket policy made by Aberdeenshire Council. They withdrew transport to day services for ALL DISABLED ADULTS - NO EXCEPTIONS!

My husband works full-time. I care for Lily full-time. Lily has a mobility vehicle that is essential to her independence; however, I cannot drive. I made every effort to learn and even sat a driving test which I failed dramatically. Severe anxiety makes driving unsafe and impossible for me. Years of full-time caring has only intensified that anxiety. We followed every instruction we were given. We advertised for a driver who could take Lily to her day centre using her own vehicle, and we planned to use the remainder of Lily’s Self-Directed Support (SDS) budget to pay for this. Despite our best efforts, no one was able to fill this position. As a result, Lily is stranded at home with no transport, no access to her day centre and no plan in place. 

The removal of transport has not simply reduced Lily’s support; it has taken her life away. The life that she loved.

Her specialist equipment, her walker and stander, are at her day centre. Her friends are there. Her routine is there. The world she knew, the progress she made and the independence she had; it has all been snatched away as a direct result of Aberdeenshire Council’s blanket ban on transport.

Lily did not change.

Her disability did not change.

The system changed and it changed her life for the worse.

Across Aberdeenshire, disabled adults are being left isolated at home because they are deemed not to “meet the criteria” for support, because transport is no longer available, or because their day service has closed altogether in the name of cost-cutting. It’s absolutely abhorrent. On top of this, the rising costs of day centres and respite facilities are making it even harder for our loved ones to access the support they desperately need.

Every individual deserves to be seen, assessed, and supported as a person. Person-centred care is the foundation of a meaningful life for our loved ones. Yet, blanket bans on transport and cuts to day services directly contradict this principle.

If one disabled adult needs transport to access their care, it should be provided.

If another does not, resources can be saved there instead.

That is what individualised, person-centred care looks like. What is happening now is the opposite.

Unpaid carers are being stretched beyond endurance. I, myself, suffered a mental breakdown last week as a direct result of this situation. For a council that claims to prioritise mental health and wellbeing, this reality tells a very different story.

Carers are exhausted, isolated and frightened watching the people they love lose their independence, their routine and their dignity.

Caring is not easy.

It is relentless.

It should not be made harder by policy decisions that completely ignore reality.

How have we reached a place in our society where the most vulnerable people are treated as expendable?

Why is it considered acceptable to ignore laws designed to protect disabled adults simply to save money?

Disabled people are not a burden.

They are not expendable.

They should be first in line for protection, not first in line for budget cuts.

We urge Aberdeenshire Council and the Scottish Government to:

Immediately review and reverse blanket bans on transport.

Ensure SDS packages genuinely reflect individual needs, including transport where required.

Uphold person-centred care in both policy and practice.

Recognise and support unpaid carers before they reach crisis point.

Stop cost-cutting measures that actively harm disabled adults and their families.

Disabled adults deserve full, meaningful lives. They should be valued and protected; yet they have been cast aside as though they don’t matter at all. It’s causing very real harm and cannot be ignored any longer.

Carers deserve support, not neglect.

Families deserve to be heard, not dismissed.

This situation is not acceptable.

It is not humane.

It must change.

Please sign this petition to demand that disabled adults are treated as individuals and that carers are no longer left to break under the weight of a system that has abandoned them.

A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable, and right now Scotland is failing disabled adults and the families who love them.