Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Fears Moray’s most vulnerable are being ‘forgotten’ during pandemic

Glyn Morris, chief executive of charity Friendly Access, outside Moray Council. Photo by Jason Hedges.
Glyn Morris, chief executive of charity Friendly Access, outside Moray Council. Photo by Jason Hedges.

A charity is pressing for changes to Moray Council’s response to the coronavirus pandemic amid claims some vulnerable people have been “forgotten about” until now.

Guidance was issued by the Scottish Government in May to encourage recipients of self-directed support (SDS) benefits to be “pro-actively” contacted to use the money differently.

The payments are given to those with disabilities to provide extra help at home or assistance getting out and about.

Families were expected to be contacted to be told the money could be used in different ways during the lockdown due to Covid-19 concerns, including to buy IT equipment to access online services or to pay a family member instead of a personal assistant.

However, Glyn Morris, chief executive of charity Friendly Access, which campaigns for disabled barriers to be removed, says he was not notified about the option until August.

The campaigner, whose son Gregor receives SDS, has now submitted a 97-strong petition to Moray Council as part of a consultation being run by the authority about its Covid-19 recovery plan to ensure the needs of the most vulnerable are being considered alongside the rest of the population.

He said: “SDS is an example that has set the alarm bells ringing that planning for vulnerable people is being treated as a secondary priority. We think the needs of everyone need to be considered together.

“Many people have been extremely worried in isolation due to shielding and lost all their support – then to be totally forgotten about.

“We don’t think the recovery plan is reasonable. This petition will ensure that we are not forgotten and not invisible.”

Last year Moray had 221 people and 31 unpaid carers receiving direct SDS payments.

In a June report, council officers explained its aim for the recovery plan was to focus on an “inclusive society” to support vulnerable people with a focus on children.

However, they added that before they could tackle “such broad objectives” they would need to address the “most immediate and significant” of the health, social and economic impacts from the pandemic.

Yesterday a Moray Council spokeswoman explained the petition would be considered alongside other responses to the consultation.

She said: “All submissions to the corporate recovery plan consultation will be considered following its closure on September 25 and key issues identified thereafter.”