Question reference: S5W-34241
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 23 December 2020
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Current status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 2 February 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out each year of its compliance with the (a) Equality Act 2010 and (b) Public Sector Equality Duty, and whether it will publish (i) the findings and (ii) details of any breaches that were reported.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not have a duty to assess its compliance with the Equality Act 2010 as a whole. This legislation is largely reserved. However, the Scottish Government does assess its compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty by adhering to the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012, which Scottish Ministers introduced to supplement the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Scottish specific duties aim to improve implementation of the Public Sector Equality Duty through a number of mechanisms. These include requiring public authorities, including the Scottish Government, to report on the progress being made to advance equality both in policy and in the treatment of their own employees every two years and publish equality outcomes every four years. The most recent report was published in 2019 and the next report is required by regulation to be published no later than 30 April 2021.
The duties also ensure the Scottish Government assesses it compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty by obliging the Scottish Government to undertake and publish equality impact assessments of its policies. For example, the published document “Equality and Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment: Evidence gathered for Scotland’s Route Map through and out of the Crisis” sets out the evidence gathered in relation to the actual or likely impacts of the proposed activities on different groups, based on protected characteristics and socio-economic disadvantage, as well as describing a range of activities that were put in place to mitigate negative impacts or promote positive impacts and advance equality or good relations.
The published document Equality and Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment: Evidence gathered for Scotland’s Route Map through and out of the Crisis sets out the evidence we have gathered in relation to the actual or likely impacts of the proposed activities on different groups, based on protected characteristics and socio-economic disadvantage, as well as describing a range of activities that we have put in place to mitigate negative impacts or promote positive impacts and advance equality or good relations.