The keys to life Expert Group
The keys to life Expert Group helps the Scottish Government to find out about how policies are affecting the lives of people with learning disabilities.
SCLD supports a group of people with learning disabilities to come together and share their experiences of living with learning disabilities with the Scottish Government and other policy makers. The group is called The keys to life Expert Group.
The group is called this because their activities feed into the work of SCLD and into our work to promote and encourage the contents of Scotland’s learning disability strategy ‘The keys to life’.
The members of the group represent themselves and are experts in their own experience. Members of the group come from across Scotland and have a variety of life experiences and opinions to share. The group meets once every two months in either Edinburgh or Glasgow.
On this page, we will share recent meeting summaries from the group, as well as biographies of current group members.
Meeting Summaries
Group Members

Kerry McInnes
I live in Oban and I love to stand up for people with learning disabilities – the Expert Group gives me a place to do that.

Heather Blair
I live in Dundee. I joined the Expert Group and now I get to travel on my own and have made friends. We talk about things that are going on in the Scottish Government and things that are important to us.

James McLellan
I live in Ayrshire and I’m on the Expert Group because I am interested in making a difference.

Paul McManus
I joined the group to see what it was all about – I’m glad I did.

George Davidson
I am from Ayr and I am a qualified DJ. I joined the Expert Group because I was interested in joining something new.

John Feehan
I live in Prestwick. I work with ENABLE Scotland and I’ve been on the Expert Group since it started.

Christine Bruce
I’m from Perth and I enjoy going to the Expert Group to help make things better for people with learning disabilities.

John Gallon
I live in Nairn and I am passionate about making lives better for young people with learning disabilities.

Rachel Bellis Jones
My name is Rachel and I live in Musselburgh. I go to the Expert Group because I enjoy it and I like to understand everything.

James Rice
My name is James and I live in Stranraer. I like being involved in meetings. I like to talk about what’s important to me and I also like to make others feel good about themselves