Guide Dogs’ manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election

Guide Dogs’ ambition is a future where every person with sight loss can live the life they choose.

Our manifesto sets out actions the next Scottish government can take to improve the lives of people with sight loss, from making our streets accessible to ensuring children and young people get the support they need.

Our key asks for the next Scottish Government

1. Update guidance and standards to make sure our streets are accessible and safe for everyone.
2. Ensure full and consistent enforcement of the national law on pavement parking across Scotland.
3. Mandate disability awareness training for transport staff, including guide dog access rights.
4. Make sure all rental e‑bikes must be parked in fixed docking stations and must not be left to block pavements.
5. Make sure all children and young people with a vision impairment can access the life changing services and support they need, when they need it.

Prioritise street safety

Clear paths with consistent features, such as tactile paving, are essential for people with sight loss to get out and about safely.

Our streets are becoming less accessible as local councils roll out different approaches to street design, including:

• Bus stop bypasses, also called floating bus stops, where pedestrians have to cross a cycle track between the bus stop and pavement.
• Continuous footways, where the pavement and road are level and encourage pedestrians and vehicles to mix.

We’re calling for the Scottish Government to set stronger standards and share updated guidance with councils, so that street safety comes first and any plans are meaningfully consulted on. People should never have to cross cycle lanes to get on or off a bus. Designs that force people to do so should be paused to allow for further research on their safety.

How your future MSP can help:

• Ensure that safety and accessibility are prioritised. The needs of all pedestrians, including those with a vision impairment, should be given higher priority than cyclists or drivers.
• Ensure meaningful, effective engagement with residents with a vision impairment about proposed active travel routes. Their views should be considered when final decisions are made.

Enforce the law on pavement parking

Parking on pavements is unsafe and unfair. 81% of people with sight loss said that reducing obstacles on pavements and street clutter was important to improving their quality of life. Yet across most of the UK it’s a daily occurrence, as local councils currently don’t have the powers they need to deal with the issue.

Scotland has led the way on tackling the problem – many local authorities have started using the powers given to them by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to fine drivers for parking on pedestrian footways. This has made a significant difference for many people with sight loss, allowing them to get out and about without the fear of being forced into the road by pavement-parked cars.

Some local councils in Scotland are yet to enforce the pavement parking law. People with sight loss should be able to make their journeys without barriers or risks to their safety, no matter where they live. We’re calling on the Scottish Government to work with councils to ensure they have the resources needed to keep pavements clear and accessible.

How your future MSP can help:

• Support the full implementation of the pavement parking law across Scotland.

Open doors for guide dog owners

Guide dogs are not pets or accessories. Along with other types of assistance dogs, guide dogs are essential for many people to live their lives independently.

However, almost 90% of guide dog owners have been refused access to a business or service, such as shops or taxis. The fear of these refusals can stop people from getting out and about with confidence.

While in most cases refusing a working guide or other assistance dog is likely to be unlawful, the reality is that it is extremely difficult for guide dog owners to take action when refusals happen.

The rules on taxis and minicabs are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, but only some local authorities have made disability equality training a mandatory requirement for driver licensing. We’re calling on the Scottish Government to ensure this is the case everywhere, to reduce the risk of guide dog owners being prevented from making journeys.

How your future MSP can help:

• Support mandatory disability equality training for all taxi and minicab drivers.
• Review licensing legislation to explore how local councils can be empowered to act when service providers refuse access to guide dog owners.

Manage e-scooters and rental e-bikes

Our service users regularly report problems with fast, almost-silent e-scooters being ridden anti-socially on pavements, and abandoned rental e-bikes blocking paths.

How your future MSP can help:

• Support a public information campaign on the legality of using e-scooters, lead on a joined-up approach on enforcement, and prohibit the sale of unregulated and untested e-scooters.
• Ensure all rental e-bikes must be parked in docking spaces and cannot clutter the pavement.

Improve support for children and young people

Children and young people with a vision impairment face a unique set of challenges in their early development and education, which puts them at a disadvantage compared to their sighted peers.

Ensuring children and young people can access the high-quality specialist support they need, when they need it, is crucial to empowering them to reach their full potential and to live independently in later life.

However, an overstretched and underfunded specialist workforce means that many families face a postcode lottery in accessing support. We are calling on all political parties to ensure that children and young people with a vision impairment are given the best start in life.

How your future MSP can help:

• Prioritise the provision and funding of life-changing services for children and young people with a vision impairment so they can consistently access the support they need, when they need it.
• Deliver a workforce strategy which addresses the challenges around recruitment, training, and retention in the specialist workforce to ensure every child with a vision impairment can access appropriate support.