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Ministerial Foreword
Contemporary Scotland is rightly proud of its distinct heritage and of the new cultures, faiths and traditions it is embracing. It is the richer for this. Scotland has a reputation for warmth and welcome, has an increasingly diverse population and has opened its doors to refugees, students, immigrants and visitors from around the world for generations.
But until recently, Scotland was in denial about the extent and effects of racism in our country. This meant that racism and discrimination had a low profile and where it existed it often went unfettered. Public policies, services and programmes were designed and delivered largely without consideration of race equality. The legacy was racial disadvantage, complacency, lack of public awareness and unchallenged racism.
The MacPherson Report, which followed the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, was a watershed in race relations - opening up the issue of institutional or systemic racism and creating the impetus for legislative change. Scotland responded quickly by establishing two national forums in 1999 to consider the judicial and public policy issues which Scotland needed to address. The Lawrence Steering Group and the Race Equality Advisory Forum both consulted widely and provided well considered recommendations for change. These recommendations form much of the basis for current race equality work and chime with the Equality Strategy which underpins the Executive's broader equality work.
The Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive placed equality and race equality in particular, at the top of the political agenda. There was endorsement of the Executive's Equality Strategy and widespread acceptance of mainstreaming equality. The issues of poverty, regeneration and equality which for some time were being tackled in parallel not in concert, began to be approached as integral and related issues.
But while a lot has been achieved in the last 6 years, we still have some way to go before everyone living in this country enjoys the benefits to be derived from having a diverse society. Racism, harassment and discrimination are still a feature of life for many people living in Scotland today. This is simply unacceptable and does not make any sense morally, socially, culturally or economically.
This Race Equality Scheme sets out what the Executive is doing to promote race equality and eliminate racism and discrimination- as a policy maker, an employer, and in the case of some Executive agencies, a deliverer of services. As Minister for Communities, I shall be taking a keen interest in its effective implementation.
Malcolm Chisholm, MSP
Minister for Communities
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