On 8 December 2008 the Minister for Communities and Sport published a Race Equality Statement which outlines the Government's priorities for race equality over 2008-2011. The Statement is part of a package of measures which provide a focus for our work on race equality, including the Race, Religion & Refugee Integration Funding Stream 2008-11 which has allocated £5.6m to projects around Scotland Link and the Government's Race Equality Scheme 2008, which was published on 28 November
The elimination of barriers such as race discrimination will enable all of Scotland's people to achieve to their fullest potential and maximise the skills we have available to contribute to building a strong, successful Scotland with opportunities for all to flourish.
The 4 Strategic Group reports will be published shortly on the website.
Tackling Racism
The Scottish Government remains committed to promoting race equality and tackling racism and discrimination in Scotland. This page provides information on the statutory duty on the Scottish Government (and other public bodies) to promote race equality and eliminate discrimination and our supporting Race Equality Scheme, and highlights some of our work to combat racism and discrimination.
One Scotland Campaign
The Scottish Government is committed to continuing and developing the One Scotland campaign. The campaign website provides information about the Campaign, some of our work to tackle racism, the teachers' resources available, where to get help and advice, and many other things.
Four Rock Against Racism events will see the beginning of One Scotland activity over the summer. The Four gigs in total will be held across Scotland and involve major, current, UK recording artists.
The principle aims of RoAR are to deliver the One Scotland message to a young audience. The message informs and educates young people about the damging effects of racism in Scotland and encourages them to celebrate our country's cultural diversity.
Alongside the concerts, unsigned bands or musicians living in Scotland have been invited to enter a competition offering them a chance to play at one of the concerts as an opening support act.
The first of the 2009 RoAR gigs took place on Wednesday 17 June 2009 and saw Scotland's very own Franz Ferdinand play to a sell out audience in Selkirk.
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
Like other public bodies, we are here to serve all the people of Scotland, regardless of a person's race, religion, culture, ethnicity, or other background. Sometimes, unwittingly, the way we do things and the decisions we take adversely affect groups of people. The result may be lack of opportunity, difficulty in accessing provision or unresponsive services. We are determined that we do everything we can to eradicate racism and discrimination. This voluntary commitment to race equality is also a statutory commitment. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places a general statutory duty to promote race equality on the government and other public authorities. This means that we must have 'due regard', when carrying out our functions, to the need to:
- eliminate unlawful racial discrimination
- promote equality of opportunity
- promote good relations between people of different racial groups
Employment Monitoring
Another key part of meeting the statutory duty to promote race equality involves us monitoring, by racial group, the numbers of-
- Staff in Post
- Applicants to the Scottish Government
- Applicants for training
- Recipients of training
- Applicants for promotion
- Those affected by performance assessment reviews
- Those involved in grievance procedures
- Those who are the subject of disciplinary action
- Those leaving the Government
Latest figures
Further information about what we are doing to ensure we are meeting the statutory duty to promote race equality as an employer is set out in the Race Equality Scheme and database.