Public bodies failing to deliver on advancing equality, says committee

A Holyrood committee has reported that public bodies are failing to deliver on their duties of advancing equality of opportunity in Scotland.

The report, from the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, said there was also a failure to foster good relations between different groups.

Following the passing of the UK Equality Act in 2010, public bodies and organisations are legally required to implement the “public sector equality duty”.

It aims to make sure that these bodies and organisations think about how they can improve society and promote equality.

In its report, the committee found that fundamental reform to Scotland’s approach to the duty is required.

Karen Adam, convener of the committee, said it was vital that improving the impact is not treated as a “tick-box exercise”.

She said: “This is a time of significant funding challenges for public authorities.

“We recognise that this means that capacity to focus on delivering the public sector equality duty can be severely restricted.

“However, our view is that this makes it even more vital that this is a priority, not an add-on or tick-box exercise, for public authorities.

“We ask that the Scottish Government provide leadership, direction and continuing investment to ensure that the public sector equality duty can deliver on its aims and effectively promote equality in Scotland.”

Evidence heard by the committee demonstrated that public authorities lack the genuine understanding of the protected characteristics and the interrelationship between them that can improve people’s lives.

One issue was that understanding of the duty is not being cascaded down from senior staff to those on the front line.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission told the committee that this meant that delivering the duty effectively could be more “hit and miss”.

As part of its inquiry, the committee also considered reforms proposed by the Scottish Government and it found these would not deliver enough change to improve outcomes.

Minister for Equalities Kaukab Stewart said: “We welcome the publication of this report and its contribution to the ongoing dialogue around equality, diversity and inclusion in Scotland.

“We are currently reviewing the report’s findings and recommendations in detail. We recognise the importance of ensuring that public bodies meet their obligations under the Equality Act and that the PSED framework drives meaningful change for the most disadvantaged people.”