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Building a Better Scotland

CLOSING THE OPPORTUNITY GAP AND PROMOTING EQUALITY

This chapter deals with two of the Executive's key cross-cutting priorities: closing the opportunity gap and promoting equality. There is a connection between the two, although not all forms of inequality and discrimination are synonymous with poverty and socio-economic disadvantage. Some of the main impacts of discrimination, on the grounds of gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexuality or other personal characteristics, are poverty and lack of social and economic mobility.

A few examples of action on equality and closing the opportunity gap are given here. More detail will be given in the Draft Budget 2005-06 in October.

Why closing the opportunity gap matters

Growing the economy requires us to build on the capacity of all our citizens, some of whom are currently unable to find and sustain employment. Strong communities require improvements in the education, health, housing and employment prospects of people in the most disadvantaged groups and areas.

How do portfolios contribute to closing the opportunity gap objectives?

We reported in October 2002 on action and resources dedicated to closing the opportunity gap within the Scottish Budget for 2003-2006. Work across Ministerial portfolios is now led by the Cabinet Delivery Group on closing the opportunity gap chaired by Margaret Curran, Minister for Communities. The aims of the Group are: to prevent individuals or families from falling into poverty; to provide routes out of poverty for individuals and families; and to sustain individuals or families in a lifestyle free from poverty.

The Group has announced 6 high-level objectives on which to focus action by the Executive, local authorities, NHSScotland and others, working with communities most affected by poverty and deprivation. These follow with examples of action to deliver each objective.

Increasing the chances of sustained employment for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups - in order to lift them permanently out of poverty

• Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (ELL): the national roll-out of Education Maintenance Allowances by 2007, with expenditure reaching 42m by 2007-08.
• ELL: Determined to Succeed, the Executive's strategy for Enterprise in Education for young people (22m per year from 2005-06 onwards).
• ELL: skills programmes including Modern Apprenticeships (in-work training), and Get Ready for Work (training provider courses for 16-18 year olds with additional support needs), are providing high quality training as part of the Scottish Enterprise Network Skills and Learning budget of 175.9m for 2005-06.
• Communities: Working for Families Fund, that provides childcare to support parents in disadvantaged areas and groups to improve their employability (10/15/15m).

Improving the confidence and skills of the most disadvantaged children and young people - in order to provide them with the greatest chance of avoiding poverty when they leave school:

• Education and Young People (EYP): investment of 52.91/56.91/59.91 in the SureStart Programme which targets support for families with very young children in areas of greatest need.
• EYP: investment of 65m in 2005-06 in the Changing Children's Services fund, which supports integrated service delivery for vulnerable children and early intervention.

Reducing the vulnerability of low income families to financial exclusion and multiple debts - in order to prevent them becoming over-indebted and/or to lift them out of poverty:

• Communities: money advice, support for credit unions and encouraging take-up of home contents insurance (6.5m each year).

Regenerating the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods - in order that people living there can take advantage of job opportunities and improve their quality of life:

• Communities: increasing the supply of affordable housing and improving the quality of social housing (416/407/466m) and improving housing conditions, including assistance to help to carry out necessary improvements and repairs and powers to institute Housing Renewal Areas where bad conditions are concentrated (85/92/95m).
• Communities: providing support for action at local level to deal more effectively with anti-social behaviour and its consequences (32/33/34m).
• Finance and Public Services (FPS): investment in Quality of Life activities to improve the local environment, from improvements to playgrounds through to recycling and community safety activities (70/50/50m).

Increasing the rate of improvement of the health status of people living in the most deprived communities - in order to improve their quality of life, including their employability prospects:

• Health: development of a Framework for Tackling Health Inequalities, which sets NHS actions in the context of community planning strategies and prioritises effective interventions by partners.
• Health: up to 18m over three years to support a second phase of National Health demonstration projects with a focus on health inequalities.
• Health: 15m over two years for Unmet Needs pilots to tackle health inequalities by addressing access and treatment issues for deprived populations in three Board areas (Greater Glasgow, Argyll and Clyde and Tayside), to inform the forthcoming review of the Arbuthnott funding formula.
• Health: 2m per annum over two years for Well Man Health Pilots targeting disadvantaged and deprived men.
• Health: 1m per annum for five years for the Glasgow Centre for Population Health which will develop perspectives on the City's poor health record and effective means of tackling inequalities.

Improving access to high quality services for the most disadvantaged groups and individuals in rural communities - in order to improve their quality of life and enhance their access to opportunity.

• Transport: Rural Transport Measures (8.7/8.9/9.1m).
• Support for lifeline air and ferry services and continuing support under the new Scotrail franchise for existing rural rail services.
• Environment and Rural Department (ERAD): Scottish Rural Partnership Fund (5.3m in 2005-06, rising to 6m in 2007-08).

Following this Spending Review, we shall announce a small number of closing the opportunity gap targets, in order to focus resources and activity in Scotland on our objectives. Most of these are also portfolio targets in other chapters of this publication. We shall monitor and report on our progress with a mid term evaluation of what is being achieved in 2006.

Why equality matters

Growing our economy and becoming a confident, democratic Scotland are made harder if people cannot fully participate in the workforce or in public life because of their gender, disability, age, race, religion or sexual orientation. To build excellent public services we need to ensure that they cater for the different needs of all groups of people. Tackling racism, sectarianism and promoting respect and understanding builds better relations between different communities and contributes to a strengthening of our communities.

Equality objectives

Since the publication of the Executive's Equality Strategy in 1999, our main objectives have been to:

• mainstream equality, ie making sure that equality issues are considered in the formulation, design and delivery of all policy, legislation and services;
• encourage all parts of the Executive to take positive action to tackle particular problems caused by past discrimination; and
• promote equal opportunities more widely across the public and voluntary sector.

Examples of how portfolios contribute to promoting equality

Growing the economy

• ELL: supporting access of lone parents into further and higher education.
• ELL: increase the number of women doing modern apprenticeships.
• ELL: increase the support for ethnic minority and women's business start-ups and encourage greater engagement in the labour market.
• Communities: take action to reduce the gender pay gap and promote gender equality.

Excellent public services

• Communities: increase access to public services for disabled people.
• Communities: mainstream equality across the Scottish Executive and wider public sector.
• EYP: implement a new improvement framework to strengthen quality assurance across all social work services beginning with people with learning disabilities.
• Health: increase by 2008 the number of older people receiving intensive home care to 30% of all people receiving long term care.
• Health: promote equality and diversity in the workforce and develop a culturally sensitive service.
• Transport: new national schemes for concessionary fares for younger people and for older and disabled people.
• ERAD: increase access for all communities to rural services including disabled people to rural service premises.
• FPS: promoting Best Value and equality through the new Improvement Service.
• Administration: by March 2008, increase the percentages of women, ethnic minority people and staff with disabilities in the Executive's workforce.

Stronger, safer communities

• Communities: strengthen the work on Violence against Women and continuing action on domestic abuse.
• Communities: tackle racism and promote race equality through the One Scotland Many Cultures campaign and invest in projects to aid integration of refugees and asylum seekers into host communities.
• Communities: take action to tackle religious intolerance and sectarianism.
• Communities: by 2008 ensure that all pensioner households eligible for Pension Credit live in homes that meet the energy efficiency requirements of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.
• Justice: continue to support community safety partnerships across Scotland.
• Justice: involve communities in deciding work to be undertaken by offenders in the pilot Community Reparation Orders.
• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service: implement agreed recommendations of COPFS Inspectorate's Review of the prosecution of racial crime by March 2006.
• EYP: develop an anti-sectarian resource for schools.

A confident, democratic Scotland

• Communities: support engagement with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender sector on a wide range of policy areas.
• Justice: establish a Scottish Human Rights Commission.
• Tourism, Culture and Sport: increase the number of women and other under-represented groups participating in cultural activities and sport.
• Finance and Public Services: widen access to local council membership and improving local governance.

Conclusion

Tackling poverty, closing the opportunity gap and promoting equality are critical to the achievement of the key themes of the Spending Review. This chapter demonstrates examples of the practical action and resources the Executive is planning to achieve them all.

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