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chapter one: introduction to the disability equality scheme

Background

1.1 Our work on equality encompasses age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation (often referred to as six strands). Our approach is shaped by legislation and by the strategic commitment to mainstreaming which lies at the heart of the Scottish Executive's Equality Strategy. Mainstreaming means integrating equality into the everyday work of the Executive across Departments. Commitments to consultation, developing research and statistics, and awareness raising underpin the mainstreaming approach.

1.2 Our Equality Strategy was published in November 2000. It remains the main document for the Executive's work on equality and we are continuing to take forward its key priority of mainstreaming. There have been two reports on progress, in 2001 and 2003. We have also reported regularly on advances made in relation to specific equality groups, for example, the Social Focus on Disability (published August 2004).

1.3 Significant progress has been made in tackling discrimination and promoting equal opportunities through a number of routes including:

• legislation introduced through the Scottish Parliament;
• improving data, information and research;
• increasing consultation and dialogue with equality groups; and
• raising awareness of equality through campaigns such as See Me campaign

1.4 We will report in more detail on recent developments on disability and the other equality areas in the Equality Report which we plan to publish in January 2007.

1.5 Over the coming period, the Executive will be publishing three documents:

• the Scottish Executive's disability equality scheme (this document);
• the Scottish Executive's gender equality scheme; and
• an Equality Report outlining progress which we have made across the six strands since our last formal report on our Equality Strategy in 2003.

The legal context - a move towards promotion of equality

1.6 The legislative landscape on equality has changed significantly since the last formal report on our Equality Strategy in early 2003. Following the move to a proactive race equality duty established by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, two further statutory duties have been introduced through the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and the Equality Act 2006. Public bodies are now required to promote equality of opportunity in relation to race, disability and gender. All three of these duties require key public bodies to publish schemes setting out what they will do to promote equality. The Scottish Executive's race equality scheme was published in November 2002 and updated in November 2005. It sets out the Executive's commitment to race equality and plans for tackling discrimination, harassment and prejudice on grounds of race. The Scottish Executive's gender equality scheme will be published in January 2007.

General and specific duties

1.7 The 'general duty' lies at the heart of the disability equality duty. The purpose of the 'specific duties' is to help fulfil the general duty. It is against the general duty's six requirements that progress needs to be considered.

1.8 Coming into effect on 5 December 2006, the general duty covers all public authorities, with a few limited exceptions. It applies to all their functions, not just employment and service delivery, but also budget setting, procurement and setting the framework within which the organisation will deliver services.

1.9 The general duty requires public bodies, when carrying out their public functions, to have 'due regard' to:

1) the need to promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people;

2) the need to eliminate discrimination that is unlawful under the DDA;

3) the need to eliminate disability related harassment;

4) the need to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people;

5) the need to encourage participation by disabled people in public life; and

6) the need to take steps to meet disabled peoples needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment.

1.10 Specific duties, set out in the Disability Discrimination (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Regulations 2005, require listed authorities to publish a disability equality scheme by 4 December 2006. This document is our disability equality scheme.

Coverage of the Scottish Executive's disability equality scheme

1.11 The Scottish Executive is the devolved government for Scotland. It is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Scotland, including health, education, justice, housing, environment and rural affairs, and transport. The work of the Scottish Executive is carried out by Executive departments and agencies. The Scottish Executive's disability equality scheme covers all Scottish Executive departments and agencies (other than those listed at paragraph 1.14).

1.12 Executive departments are the mainstream civil service in Scotland. Current departments are:

1.13 Agencies are established by Ministers as part of Executive departments, or as departments in their own right, to carry out a discrete area of work. Agencies are staffed by civil servants. Current Scottish Executive agencies are:

1.14 The National Archives of Scotland and the Registers of Scotland are Scottish Executive agencies which also have the duty placed on them directly and must produce their own scheme. The Scottish Prison Service and Scottish Courts Service are Scottish Executive agencies that have chosen to publish their own associate schemes rather than be included within this document. Links to these agencies' websites are at Annex A.

1.15 Non-Ministerial Departments are departments of a government that are not headed by a Minister and answer directly to legislature. These are not covered by the Scottish Executive's disability equality scheme.

General Register Office for Scotland

Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator ( OSCR)

1.16 Public Bodies are not covered by the Scottish Executive's scheme. These can be defined as bodies which have a role in the processes of national Government, but are not a Government department or part of one, and which accordingly operate to a greater or lesser extent at arm's length from Ministers. Public bodies are known in Government circles as 'Non-departmental Public Bodies' ( NDPBs). This term covers a wide and diverse range of organisations of varying size and responsibilities. Executive NDPBs are normally established by statute such as an Act of Parliament or Royal Charter and carry out administrative, commercial, executive or regulatory functions on behalf of Government. They employ their own staff, who are not civil servants, and are responsible for managing their own budgets. Many NDPBs are themselves covered by the disability equality duty and will be producing their own disability equality schemes.

Our approach to the disability equality scheme

1.17 The Scottish Executive is a large organisation with a complex structure, delivering services and exercising functions which cover a vast range of issues which impact upon all the people of Scotland. We made early contact with national disability organisations and had initial discussions on how best to involve disabled people in the development of the scheme and this is discussed in more detail in chapter 3. This section focuses on the internal structures which we established to help us develop a strategic approach to disability equality and to producing our disability equality scheme.

1.18 Our internal approach to implementing the duty was led by the Equality Unit and started with the establishment of our Equality Scheme Implementation Group ( ESIG) in April 2006. This group included officials from across departments and agencies and provided an oversight of our activities. In addition, to enable us to take forward our work plan and timetable for the implementation of the public sector equality duties effectively, we established a network of contacts across departments and agencies. Officials in this network were involved in the dissemination of information across the organisation and the co-ordination of action.

1.19 Working with ESIG, the Equality Unit developed guidance on the disability equality duty, developed an Equality Impact Assessment Tool and put in place a system to allow departments to provide strategic, co-ordinated input to the content of the scheme. We also delivered a programme of briefing sessions for senior management, departmental business planning officials and other key advisers. This has been followed up with briefing sessions for staff across the Executive on the new public duties and the Equality Impact Assessment Tool.

1.20 Executive officials also engaged with the Disability Rights Commission in determining our approach to the scheme and in the preparation of DRC guidance for the Executive. At the time of writing, the DRC guidance has not been published.

1.21 In addition to ESIG we established a cross departmental disability group involving officials with a specific policy interest in disability from across the Executive's departments and agencies. While this group did not provide specific input to the development of the scheme, they will be instrumental in rolling out the scheme and embedding the duty in the work of the Executive over the next 3 years.

Structure of the disability equality scheme

1.22 Our disability equality scheme contains 12 chapters, structured as follows:

• chapters 1 and 2 introduce the scheme and set it in the context of the Scottish Executive's approach to disability equality;
• chapters 3 and 4 discuss how disabled people have been involved in the development of the scheme and how we will strengthen involvement during the life span of the scheme;
• chapter 5 describes our approach to disability equality impact assessment;
• chapters 6-11 set out Scottish Executive corporate functions and describe how we will take forward disability equality in these areas, including information gathering;
• chapter 12 contains departmental action plans setting out how the policy work of departments and agencies will deliver the disability equality duty; and
• an Annex referring to other documents and websites is included at the end.

Reviewing during 2007

1.23 In our scheme we set out departmental action plans, which include key policy priorities for taking forward disability equality over the period 2006-2009. However, we are mindful of the fact that there will be Scottish Parliament elections in May 2007. The outcome of these elections could impact on the policy priorities of Ministers and we are therefore committed to updating our disability equality scheme in the autumn of 2007 to take account of any policy shifts that arise through the election of a new Parliament. We will also take the opportunity provided by this update to give more detail on our website of how Scottish Executive policies are advancing disability equality. This information will be online by the end of 2007.

Annual reporting

1.24 The disability equality duty requires the Scottish Executive to report annually on the progress which we are making to promote disability equality It is our intention to use the opportunity provided by these annual reports to report across all 6 equality strands and to publish the first of these reports in December 2007. In advance of this we will be highlighting some developments on equality to date in the Equality Report which we publish in January 2007.

Comments

1.25 We are keen to engage and involve those who are affected by our work on disability equality or those who have an interest in it. We would like to know what you think about our disability equality scheme, and how we are making progress, and will give serious consideration to how you think we could do things better.

1.26 We would therefore welcome your comments on this Scheme. Please send them by e-mail to equality.unit@scotland.gsi.gov.uk; or by post to Charlotte McHaffie, Scottish Executive, Development Department, Equality Unit, Area 2-G, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ.

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