Shetland Soap is now supplying their handmade products to Bute House

Following a visit to the Shetland Soap Company in August, First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon invited a group of participants and staff from COPE Ltd to join her for High Tea at Bute House.

The invitation was in recognition of the high standard of work people with learning disabilities do within the organisation. This standard of work was also recognised when an order to supply Bute House with Soap products was placed following her visit.

On Monday the group travelled to Edinburgh for High Tea, where they had the opportunity to talk to the First Minister about how she could encourage other businesses to employ more people with learning disabilities.

The First Minister gave the group a guided tour of Bute House which included an opportunity to sit around the cabinet table and discuss what issues were important to them.

The group were also delighted to see their handmade products ready for use in the bathrooms. Before leaving a small thank you gift was presented to the First Minister for her kind invitation.

Ingrid Webb, CEO of COPE Ltd said “ I am so proud of our amazing participants and how they embraced the opportunity to talk to our First Minister. They asked great questions and engaged with her so well. We are aware that these opportunities do not come around every day and wanted to ensure that we spoke about our social purpose and how we can sustain and grow this in the future. The First Minister was very supportive of our ideas and made sure that our participants had a splendid afternoon.”