[This action plan now includes Transport from the Development Department and European Structural Funds from Finance and Central Services Department.]
FUNCTION OR POLICY | COMMITMENT
Actions we committed to in our Scheme and new commitments | OUTCOMES/ ACTIONS TAKEN
Work undertaken to date | FUTURE ACTION
Work underway or planned to address these challenges | DEADLINE/ TIMING | CONTACT
Lead unit working on this |
High Impact |
Allocation of money - Further and Adult Education Division (FAED) - Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) | Ministers have recognised the importance of adequate language provision, both to help integration within communities and to support activity in the labour market. 3.4 million funding has been made available to strengthen colleges' ability to offer language support to anyone, including asylum seekers. Funding will also be made available for this activity in future years. | Significant increase in language support for students in FE colleges and increased provision of student support for access to courses such as travel costs; extension of right of students who are asylum-seekers or refugees to access part-time non-advanced and advanced (HN) programmes | - Scoping exercise to assess extent and nature of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision in Scotland
- Development of a strategy for and implementation of enhanced ESOL provision
| 2004 2004/5 | Further and Adult Education Division, Branch 1, x20246 |
Monitoring performance of SFEFC | SFEFC are responsible for the collection of all FE data and they continually seek to improve the data available, including that relating to race equality. New Performance Indicators are currently in draft which include issues such as retention and progression of students. We will monitor data capture and indicators regularly. | Performance Indicators published in August 2003 show that the FE sector is making good progress in retaining students and facilitating their progression to other courses. Colleges are responsible for publishing their own data annually relating to the retention and progression of minority ethnic students. | - The Executive will continue to work closely with SFEFC to ensure that data collection is continually improved.
- Executive is looking at ethnicity classifications which may be applied across the public sector in due course to allow for comparability of data.
| Ongoing | Further and Adult Education Division, Branch 4, x20108 |
Monitoring performance of Scottish Enterprise (SEn) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) | Both SEn and HIE monitor minority ethnic business start-ups. SEn include a specific target within their Operating Plan | SEn target for last year was 70 minority ethnic business start-ups. The number achieved was more than double at 150. | Both SEn and HIE will continue to monitor on a yearly basis | ongoing | Enterprise Division, Branch 1 x25696 |
Policy review - Further and Adult Education Division (FAED) | FAED are about to conduct a review of business processes which will include equal opportunities issues. | Review, which included processes such as appointments to SFEFC/SHEFC and honours nominations, completed. New arrangements in place which ensure that diversity issues are considered at every opportunity | Diversity issues are now an integral part of all business processes. An action plan is in place to ensure that issues are closely monitored and to deliver continuous improvements | Ongoing | Further and Adult Education Division x20248 |
Medium Impact |
Grants - Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) | Research suggests that minority ethnic businesses (EMBs) are concentrated in sectors which serve a local market e.g. retail, catering and personal services (Audit of Research on Minority Ethnic Issues in Scotland From a 'Race' Perspective). These sectors are not eligible for RSA, due to the high probability of job displacement. It is therefore likely that EMBs are under-represented in RSA uptake, due to these sectoral restrictions. We will keep under regular review the eligibility criteria for RSA and ensure that we do not unfairly discriminate against EMBs. NB Two business people from a minority ethnic background, Vikram Lall and Afzal Khushi, are respectively the Chair and a Member of the Scottish Industrial Development Advisory Board (SIDAB). SIDAB, a non-executive NDPB with a Chair and 11 Members, advises the Executive on large RSA cases and an important role in the shaping of RSA policy. | We are maintaining our scrutiny of RSA criteria but no evidence has yet emerged of unfair discrimination against EMBs. | Maintain regular review. | Ongoing | RSA Scotland Division, Branch 1 x25674 |
Grants - Business Growth and Innovation Div (BGID) (SMART, SPUR and SPUR+) | 1. Plan to monitor schemes in future to identify businesses led by members of minority ethnic communities and minority ethnic graduates. | Information is now being gathered on an ongoing basis. As monitoring only commenced on 1 April 2003, it is too soon to report on outcomes. | Data to be reviewed in next financial year and actions considered once one year's figures are available. | 2004 | Business Growth & Innovation Division, Innovation Grants Unit x25610 |
| 2. Plan to include business people and graduates from the ethnic community that have been supported under schemes in case studies and to include minority ethnic organisations on distribution lists. | Initial drafts of case studies have been produced. These are currently being reviewed before sending to printers for publication and inclusion on the ETLLD website. Our mailing list has been revised to include minority ethnic organisations. | Case studies to be published and added to ETLLD website. | 2004 | Business Growth & Innovation Division, Innovation Grants Unit x25557 |
Grants - Business Growth and Innovation Division: SCoRe | Procedures will be in place to monitor businesses led by members of minority ethnic communities. | SCoRe was not launched until January 2004, no evidence available of unfair discrimination against EMB's but it will be gathered as per column 2. | Maintain regular review of data once first years figures are available. | Ongoing | Business Growth & Innovation Division, BG&I: New Initiatives Unit x 25568 |
Consultation - Enterprise Networks Division | For the consultation on the Green Jobs Strategy, the Division will specifically target various organisations for comment. This will include the EOC and CRE. | The consultation has yet to take place. | The views from CRE and EOC will be taken into account and a copy of the final report will be forwarded to both organisations. | Continuing | Enterprise Networks division, Branch 4 x25697 |
Allocation of money- Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) | SHEFC (and the institutions they fund) are subject to both the general and specific duties under RR(A)A. In their annual guidance to SHEFC Ministers have drawn attention to the duties. SHEFC have published a Draft Scheme which makes clear how they will work with the sector to promote equality and identify and share good practice. We will monitor the compliance with RR(A)A general and specific duties. | SHEFC consulted the HE sector on its Draft Scheme in September 2002 and published the final version on 27 November 2002. The first annual review of the Scheme has been completed. | The Scheme will be updated in light of the findings of the first annual review and an updated version issued, following endorsement by the Council | Ongoing from Dec 2002 | Higher Education and Science Division x20179 |
Monitoring of performance- SHEFC | SHEFC's Draft Scheme is reinforced by an Action Plan covering all relevant areas of their own and funded institutions' activities. The Action Plan includes how SHEFC will monitor performance against each of the Actions. We will monitor its compliance with RR(A)A general and specific duties. | See entry above. | Outcome of annual review to be discussed with SHEFC as part of regular monitoring arrangements. | Ongoing from Dec 2002 | Higher Education and Science Division x20179 |
Low Impact |
Access to information and services - Enterprise Networks | Scottish Enterprise are currently undertaking a review of all their programmes and services in order to make them more accessible to minority ethnic groups. We will monitor the outcome of this review. | An Equal opportunities Action Plan was produced and some of the outcomes so far include, supporting a translation service in Glasgow to convert information on services for clients and proactively target clients through radio broadcasts on ethnic radio stations. | Through the Action Plan continue to identify ways in which SEn can improve access and delivery methods. | Continuing | Enterprise Networks division, Branch 1 x25511 |
Maintain the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) framework to provide a rapid, consistent response to large scale redundancies | Encourage PACE practitioners to remove any barriers to information provision and access to support /assistance for minority ethnic groups. EI will raise this issue with PACE practitioners to ensure due consideration is given. | National redundancy packs are under the process of being developed to ensure consistent availability of information across Scotland. The PACE monitoring framework (due early 2004) will provide a basis for sharing good practice | Continuation of work to role out redundancy packs, performance framework and dialogue with PACE practitioners | Continuing | Enterprise Networks division, Branch 3 x25841 |
Grants - Scottish Union Learning Fund | SULF criteria include "widening access" which encompasses equal opportunities issues. Some projects specifically intend to reach out to non-traditional learners and one aim of the the Royal College of Nursing project aims to engage those whose first language is not English. We will monitor effective implementation of the projects. | Projects under Round 4 of SULF are just beginning. (Previous rounds of SULF have concentrated on building the capacity of unions to promote learning in the workplace.) | Keep "widening access" as a key criterion for future rounds of SULF funding. | Continuing | Skills for Life and Work Division, Information Team X20220 |
Access to Learning and learning information - learndirect scotland | Several learndirect Scotland branded learning centres provide courses in Gaelic and community languages. A number also provide courses for asylum seekers. | Have attracted people who would normally be unable to undertake learning due to the language barrier. Also enables people to participate fully within their community. | Considering using University for Industry model to provide some key learning information from the learndirect Scotland website in the main community languages. | 2004/05 | Skills for Life and Work Division, Information Team x20214 |
| TRANSPORT |
| Improve complaints procedures for bus users | Medium: A Bus Users Complaints Tribunal is being set up in Scotland. We will ensure that the Tribunal takes into consideration race equality issues when exercising its functions. | BUCT established in April 2003. Information on ethnic origin of complainants is gathered and analysed to identify any trends. | | Ongoing | Transport Division 2, Branch 4 X47701 |
| Consultation procedures for transport | Medium: When advising local authorities about consultation procedures in relation to specific projects eg Road User Charging in Edinburgh we will highlight the requirement to ensure that race equality issues are covered. In addition, when implementing new proposals for future consultation with lifeline ferry users, we shall ensure that operators are required to cover race equality issues. | We will be raising this issue with local authorities taking forward road user charging schemes Ministers will shortly be consulted on the shape of new ferry consultative arrangements and on the timing of their introduction. | To discuss with local authorities the need to ensure engagement with ethnic groups, as we ourselves have done in our consultation on road user charging regulations. Subject to Ministerial approval of the way forward, new bodies established will be required to have regard to race and other equality issues. Operators in turn will be expected to consult users regularly through these new bodies. | Ongoing Ongoing | Transport Division 1, Branch 2
(for road user charging)
x47242 Transport Division 4, Branch 1
x47969 |
| EUROPEAN STRUCTURAL FUNDS |
| High Impact |
| Work with public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure use of funds to underpin Ministerial priorities | Equal Opportunities (including race equality) being mainstreamed in European Structural Funds programmes. | - Scottish Structural Fund Programmes actively promote funding opportunities for positive action projects for minority ethnic groups and organisations in Structural Fund programmes | - Good Practice Guide is being produced which provides practical examples of how equal opportunities (including race equality) has been mainstreamed in Structural Fund projects. | Will be published early 2004 | European Structural Funds Division, Team 7
x40732 |
| Medium Impact |
| European Structural Funds (ESF) - Implement effectively 2000-6 structural funds programmes | Equal Opportunities (including race equality) being mainstreamed in European Structural Funds programmes. | Equal Opportunities Adviser (partially funded by SE) employed since Sept 2002 across all Structural Funds programmes. Good practice has developed in mainstreaming equal opportunities in ESF Programmes: - All Structural Fund Programme Management Executives have equalities 'champions' who attend Equal Opportunities Forum - ESF Programme Management Executive Staff are trained in Equal Opportunities including race equality | | | European Structural Funds Division, Team 7
x40732 |
| ESF - Undertake mid term evaluations | Outputs of evaluation will be monitored by Equal Opportunities Forum. | - Consideration is being given to findings of Mid-Term Evaluations of ESF programmes | | | European Structural Funds Division, Team 7 x40732 |