Report of the Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament

ANNEX H

MAINSTREAMING EQUALITY IN THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

Introduction

1. The establishment of a Scottish Parliament with law making powers is a unique opportunity to address the issues of equality of opportunity from the outset of a new institution. The aim must be to embed into the process of policy formulation and the way in which the Parliament works, the principles and commitment to promote equal opportunities for all and to eliminate the effects of past discrimination. This paper outlines a set of proposals to the Consultative Steering Group which will enable the Scottish Parliament to ensure that it promotes equal opportunities in the conduct of its business.

2. The Equal Opportunities Commission which is sponsored by the Department for Education and Employment is the statutory body charged with upholding the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and Equal Pay Act 1970 and promoting equal opportunities generally between women and men. It has a Commissioner for Scotland and an office in Scotland with a Director, a Principal Legal Officer, four specialist staff and five support staff. The EOC's Head Office is in Manchester. In 1995 a Scottish Advisory Committee was established to assist with the work in Scotland, and in October 1998 a formal Scotland Committee was established to ensure that the EOC's decision making and work in Scotland are relevant to the new constitutional arrangements.

3. The Equal Opportunities Commission's expertise and statutory remit relates only to discrimination on the grounds of sex and marriage. However, the proposals outlined in this paper are flexible enough to incorporate a broader definition of equality of opportunity.

Mainstreaming equality

4. The EOC wishes to see the promotion of equal opportunities become part of the day to day work of the Scottish Parliament. The notion of "mainstreaming" has developed over recent years as a response to the need to move equal opportunities practices from an "add on" in policy and service development to being an integrated part of an organisation's activities. The advantage of this approach is that it will enable the Scottish Parliament to avoid discriminatory practices, to keep within the law and to ensure that policy and legislation promote equality generally and result in fairer legislation and quality service.

5. More than twenty years after the introduction of the sex and race equality laws, it is clear that much progress has been made in eliminating overt or intentional discrimination. The challenge now is to increase understanding of how inequality arises and is perpetuated, so that the Parliament can ensure that it does not unknowingly discriminate, or by its legislation and practices reinforce past discrimination or inequality.

6. The dictionary defines "inclusive" as "considered together with" or "comprehensive". This fits well with the EOC view of effective "Mainstreaming", which requires:

determination to pursue equality of opportunity and outcome through all policy development, practices, legislation and implementation;

commitment to scrutinise before adoption all legislation and its implementation to identify potential for discrimination.

commitment in all legislation and its implementation to promote equal opportunities in the relevant areas and to redress inequality and/or differential impact.

an effective mechanism to gather data, evaluate and monitor all services; and a commitment, where there is evidence of inequality and/or differential impact, to assess what changes are required to achieve greater equality and, where possible, to implement these.

Framework for Equality

7. The legal context: as an emanation of the British state, the Scottish Parliament will be directly bound by Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome and by the Equal Treatment and Equal Pay directives. These relate to sex equality law. It will also be subject to domestic equality law: The Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Equal Pay Act 1970, Race Relations Act 1976 and Disability Discrimination Act 1996.

8. To give effect to these statutory requirements the Parliament will need to be able to ensure that in its policy making and legislative roles it does not perpetuate past discrimination and that it generally promotes equality. To achieve the conditions for genuine equality, the EOC believes there will also need to be a programme to tackle the historic legacy of inequality.

9. The procedures and structure need to enable the Parliament to avoid and challenge the two types of discrimination defined by law:

Direct discrimination: treating a person less favourably on the grounds of their sex; Indirect discrimination: the imposition of a requirement or condition, applied equally to all, with which a smaller group of one sex cannot comply, so that it causes detriment. This is unlawful if it cannot be objectively justified.

In the next sections the EOC outlines proposals for avoiding discrimination in the conduct of the Parliament's business, for the exercise of its functions with regard to the principle of equality and for using its powers to create equality and inclusiveness across Scotland.

How the Parliament conducts its business

10. Achieving equality, and inclusiveness generally, requires an open style, a willingness to consult and work in partnership with others in the development of plans and policies, backed up by a framework that maintains a momentum, sets standards and timescales and ensures priority for the work in hand.

11. Defining responsibility: While the promotion of equal opportunities must be the responsibility of every MSP and civil servant, it is important to identify clearly where ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the Scottish Parliament meets its obligations lies. This responsibility would normally lie at the most senior level of any organisation. In the case of the Parliament, that would be the Scottish Executive who would delegate to an Equal Opportunities Committee on a day to day basis, and to the Permanent Secretary who would similarly delegate to an Equality Unit. The EOC was very pleased to note the CSG's support for this proposal.

12. An equal opportunities policy statement and plan: The Parliament will need to develop and publish a plan detailing the ways in which it intends to fulfil its statutory duty. This should include proposals to eliminate discrimination and promote equality in relation to its role as an employer, the general conduct of its business, how policy and legislation will be appraised for its equality impact, the relationship with external bodies and any services the Parliament provides. It will be important to consult widely, with equality bodies and other agencies with a potential interest, in the drawing-up of this plan. To undertake this task, to provide advice and expertise for the necessary monitoring and scrutiny, and to manage the programme proposed below, there will need to be an Equality Unit established within the Scottish Office.

13. An Equal Opportunities Committee: The Committee's role would be to ensure a focus on equal opportunities issues relating to all the Parliament's activities. It would set priorities, monitor progress and determine action. It would scrutinise policy and legislative proposals and implementation for equality impact. This Committee should establish a structure for close liaison with the statutory and voluntary equality bodies.

14. Training: It cannot be expected that MSPs and staff will be experts in the fields of equality. A training programme will be an essential part of establishing a framework to promote equality and inclusiveness.

15. Collection and disaggregation of data: This will be needed to monitor change and chart progress.

Recommendations:

That responsibility for ensuring the promotion of equal opportunities and elimination of discrimination through the Parliament's activities should lie with the Scottish Executive That an Equal Opportunities Committee and an Equality Unit be established for day to day development, monitoring and prioritizing. That an Equal Opportunities policy statement and plan be agreed and issued by the Parliament as a matter of priority after its establishment. That a programme of training and the establishment of mechanisms for collection of disaggregated data be established as a priority to prepare the MSPs and staff for the required monitoring and development role.

The Parliament at Work

16. Participation: The political parties have made their own decisions on arrangements to improve gender equality. The EOC proposes that, where there is under-representation, provision be made for co-options in an advisory capacity to Committees. Consultation procedures can also be adopted, as routine, to include groups under-represented in membership of the Parliament. Ethnic minority people and disabled people, if elected as MSPs, will require additional support services. Moslems would require prayer facilities. A disabled member may need extra and particular secretarial services, written material produced in large print or other assistance.

17. Conditions of work: It is clearly important that, in the ways in which it operates, the hours of work, the terms and conditions of staff and MSPs, the Parliament reflects good equal opportunities practice. The Consultative Steering Group has made recommendations in line with this. The EOC emphasises that the structural and situational barriers to participation in the Parliament can be removed.

ensuring hours of work are compatible with caring and family responsibilities by working term time and day time hours. ensuring that membership of the Parliament is a properly waged activity. providing support for child care and other caring needs. ensuring that staff and members are able to observe whatever are their own religious holidays and observances. additional travel allowances for those with special needs. supplementary travel allowances for those with additional needs.

Recommendations:

Standing Orders should allow for co-options in an advisory capacity to Committees where there is under-representation of women, ethnic minority people, disabled people or other groups Standing Orders should provide for a range of support facilities for disabled people as members, visitors or participants in any other capacity Outreach facilities should be developed with accessible video conferencing (subtitled, audio description, etc.) in publicly accessible venues well used by all sections of the community Information about the Parliament's role and activities must be available in appropriate minority ethnic languages as well as English and Gaelic, and in Braille, large print and audio description There must be easy and accessible public transport links to the Parliament Conditions of work for MSPs must remove social, economic and cultural barriers to participation by previously excluded groups.

The Decision making Process

18. Style of decision making: The traditional Westminster style of point-scoring, quick repartee, aggression and counter-aggression is alienating for most women, people with a different cultural background, many disabled people and indeed, many men. To promote inclusiveness it will be important to set a style that listens to views, seeks to find solutions to problems and allows for the development of constructive argument and debate. This can be achieved through Standing Orders but also by encouraging the establishment of working parties and task groups. Where it is required to reserve matters to a Committee, meetings must be accessible and open in the way in which they operate. A style that encourages consultation with specialists and those with experience in different fields will be important. Parliamentary Committees should involve outside specialists as advisers and establish working parties and consultative fora to assist in achieving consensus and informed decision making.

19. Also important to creating inclusiveness in decision making is the use of language. As a modern institution, established to take Scotland into the new millennium, it would be appropriate that the Parliament's Standing Orders set the scene for the use of gender-neutral language in written and spoken communication and ensure that language which could offend because of race or disability or sexual orientation is not acceptable in debate.

20. Developing a programme approach: If the Parliament is to function as a body that promotes and fosters inclusiveness, it needs to consider carefully the ways in which it reaches decisions, determines priorities, ensures that action flows from these and evaluates progress. A programme approach is most likely to promote inclusiveness in tackling the key policy areas for the Parliament to address, eg. children, poverty, social exclusion, building sustainable communities, the environment, economic development, education, housing, etc. The development of action programmes has proved effective as a tool for the European Commission to drive forward action to achieve equal opportunities in member states. This approach would lend itself even more effectively to the close-knit and inter-woven policy and service delivery structure of Scotland.

21. In brief, the Scottish Executive would determine a set of priorities based on the Parliament's core responsibilities and would require the development of action programmes to operate horizontally across subject areas. The programme would be developed and overseen by a working party which would draw together MSPs and experts from organisations sponsored by the Parliament and others. This would be an opportunity to ensure that private, public and voluntary sector interests are represented and that the views of women, black and ethnic minority people, disabled people and other previously excluded groups are heard. The action programme would set priorities for action, determine timescales and identify potential partners. In addition it would be able to require that its programme priorities were identified within budgets and priorities held by subject Committees, and in budgets allocated by sponsored bodies. This would enable the Parliament to co-ordinate and encourage activities on the ground through the organisations it sponsors.

22. This approach encourages private/ public sector partnerships, voluntary and statutory sector partnerships, makes optimum use of a range of funding programmes, and is easy to monitor and evaluate. It allows for clear and visible objectives and priorities to be set and enables the public to see the progress that is achieved in a more tangible way than the simple setting of targets. Definable timescales allow for new priorities to be set and resources to be freed as progress is made.

23. An Equal Opportunities Action Programme: As well as ensuring that its policies and legislation promote equality, the Parliament will need to undertake a proactive programme to tackle inequality. The European Commission has successfully driven forward its equality agenda with a series of 3-year Equal Opportunities Action Programmes. The Parliament should draw up a similar programme for Scotland, in consultation with appropriate bodies. This would be overseen by a working party with representation from external statutory and voluntary bodies as well as MSPs.

24. Monitoring progress: The Parliament should produce annual reports on its progress towards equality. If it adopts the Programme approach it will have the basis from which the impact of its activities can be assessed. However, the setting of priorities and determining of progress both for the Parliament and for the bodies it funds will not be possible without the disaggregation of all data by gender, ethnicity and disability. The Parliament's responsibilities are areas of public policy and service delivery where, if equality considerations are not central to planning and policy development, there could be potential, however unintended, for discrimination to occur. Some services are used disproportionately by women and disabled people and have a greater impact on women than on men. There are also services which ethnic minority people find difficult to access. It is, therefore, important that the Parliament be required to ensure that all data is disaggregated by gender and race and, if possible, disability, to enable the Equal Opportunities Committee to monitor progress and ensure the promotion of equality through all the Parliament's functions.

Recommendations:

That the Standing Orders establish a framework for debate and problem solving that avoids aggressive and sectarian debate. That Standing Orders require inclusive language, avoiding gender specific words in the spoken and written business of the Parliament and ensuring that language that may offend is unacceptable in debate. That the Parliament generally adopt a programme approach to issues which it needs to progress and that it establish an Equal Opportunities Action Programme as a matter of priority after consultation with outside statutory and voluntary organisations. Collection of all data includes disaggregation by gender, ethnicity and disability wherever possible.

The Parliament and its Partners

25. Organisations the Parliament funds or contracts with: The Parliament can use its influence and work with partners for the promotion of equal opportunities across the range of its areas of responsibilities and where it contracts services to others. It must require the highest equality standards from the bodies that it funds and sponsors. These will include the quangos within the Parliament's control, local authorities, voluntary organisations and any other bodies the Parliament establishes. The EOC wishes to see the Parliament require that any body it funds, or with which it has a contractual relationship, be required to provide evidence of an effective equal opportunities policy and to demonstrate that the activities for which Parliament funding is required will further this policy. Funded bodies should be required to provide data on their services to the public. There are already many precedents for such an approach, including the European Union structural funds and community programmes, National Lotteries Board, and many more.

26. As well as the bodies it sponsors, the Parliament will have a relationship with a range of public bodies operating within Scotland. The EOC notes the provision of powers to require these bodies to report to the Parliament from time to time on their activities and suggests that they should be scrutinised on progress in promoting equal opportunities through the delivery of services in Scotland.

27. Voluntary organisations: The EOC works closely with a wide range of voluntary organisations in Scotland, including SCVO, STUC, women's voluntary organisations and other organisations working to promote equality of opportunity in its broadest sense. The EOC supports the formation of a Forum representing voluntary interests but stresses the need for any consultative forum to be fully inclusive of Scottish society, encompassing black and ethnic minority women and men, people with disabilities, and women and men from other previously excluded groups.

Recommendations:

Any organisation which the Parliament funds and sponsors should be required to provide evidence of an equal opportunities policy, demonstrate how its activities promote equality and provide data for monitoring purposes. The Parliament should ensure that its partnerships and support for the voluntary sector encompass organisations representing the needs of black and ethnic minority people, disabled people and organisations representing the views of women.

A Framework for promoting equal rights in Scotland

28. Although the EOC will continue to be sponsored by the DfEE, as the statutory body charged with eliminating discrimination we believe that it is in the interests of the promotion of equality to establish a close working relationship with the Parliament. The EOC is keen to play a part in developing the programmes that will create a more equal Scotland. The Commission hopes to have regular contact with the Committees and officers of the Parliament, particularly the Equal Opportunities Committee, to advise on the development and assist with the monitoring of an Equal Opportunities Action Programme.

29. The EOC is also mindful of the need to engage in debate about the establishment of a Disability Commission. The current opportunities are timely for a dialogue on an effective framework for enforcing equal rights in Scotland within the new context created by the Parliament.

Recommendation:

There should be a structure for regular liaison and collaboration between the Parliament and existing equality bodies.

Conclusion

30. The promotion of inclusiveness and equality of opportunity for all requires that equality must be integral to the infrastructure, procedures and policies of the Parliament. It must not be retained as a responsibility within only one department or Committee, but must be a mandatory consideration throughout the workings of the Parliament and its agents. Although it will be necessary to put in place a specialist unit, Committee and programme where expertise can be developed, it must be recognised that the creation of equality of opportunity is a collective responsibility, the responsibility of each MSP and each member of every Committee.