Bute House order for Shetland Soap Company

Shetland Soap Company staff and participants meet First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House.

Shetland Soap Company has started supplying its products to Bute House – the first minister’s official Edinburgh residence.

Staff and participants from the social enterprise travelled to the capital to join Nicola Sturgeon for High Tea after she invited them to the capital following a visit to the soap company in August.

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 was placed following her visit.

On Monday the group travelled to Edinburgh 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.

Ms Sturgeon 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.

Cope Ltd operates the soap company and its chief executive Ingrid Webb 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.”

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