MACS - Consultation Response on Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Strategy - January 2025
Submitted to Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Strategy
Submitted on 2025-01-14 13:31:50
Proposed vision and objectives
1. Do you agree with the vision?
Yes
Please explain your answer or provide further information :
MACS support the vision of a rights-based approach to mainstreaming. We believe that access to suitable transport, no matter your needs, level of income or where in Scotland you live, should be seen as a necessary requirement in order to achieve other human rights. The present transport system does not yet deliver this level of access to transport for all. We indeed need prompt and bold action to make our policy intentions a reality for disabled people across Scotland.
MACS is encouraged that we aim to place Scotland as a world leader in human rights, which will hope will feature accessible, affordable and available public transport. As discussed in the recent submission to the Disability Commissioner Consultation, currently disabled people are facing a reality that is far from this vision. As noted in the evidence presented, disabled people are at a considerable disadvantage across all areas of society, such as in 2021, Scotland had the largest disability pay gap of UK countries and, in 2018-2020, 40 per cent of households with disabled members were financially vulnerable, compared to 25 per cent of households with no disabled members. The COVID pandemic further compounded existing inequalities. Disabled people deserve better.
In general terms, we are delighted that the Scottish Government recognises the need for more action to bring about real change. The ambitions of Equality Act 2010, which streamlined previous legislation, has failed to deliver meaningful outcomes. However, introducing another layer of strategy and reporting fails to inspire confidence that this reality will be realised. Across civil society and the disabled community, whom we regularly engage with, there is a fatigue with well-intended documents. This strategy does indeed reflect our understanding of the limitations of current provisions to achieve equality but we are hesitant to agree that the solution would be another action plan, with reporting requirements, and a toolkit that will likely fail to reach the disengaged.
2. Do you agree with the objectives?
Yes
Please explain your answer or provide further information :
We agree with the objectives; however, we would question whether a new strategy and toolkit would be an effective mechanism to achieve these objectives.
At first glance, these objectives should already be achieved if the mechanisms currently established were performing effectively. It is thought, therefore, that a solution would involve more direct action ‘on the ground’and in delivery of policy intention; instead of another strategy stating the importance of these objectives.
The following objectives are already accounted for in current requirements: ‘remove systemic barriers; improve how policy decisions are made and delivered; and embed transparency so it is easier for those affected by decisions to hold Scottish Government and the wider public sector to account’.
It appears that the only addition would be the introduction of the need to ‘establish the leadership, capability, capacity, culture and practice’. This summarises the current limitations of the public sector as good-intentions in policy fail to be realised due to limited leadership buy-in and equalities not taking priority in resource allocation, resulting in a glaring ‘implementation gap’. This is a recurring theme within our work.
There is no question that Scotland needs to better deliver on human rights for disabled people. The need for more support, representation and ultimately better outcomes for disabled people is not in question. Our position remains that we need action now, at pace and scale.
Strengthening leadership
3. Do you agree that strengthening leadership is a key driver for mainstreaming equality and human rights?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
Leadership is undoubtedly important for mainstreaming equality and human rights. Only by having decision makers investing in this agenda will real change occur.
That said, leaders should be a key part in actualising the current policy provisions and have equality embedded within their portfolios. This should be a given. If outcomes are not reflecting the need for change, leadership should be upskilled in current provisions.
4. Do you agree with the focus on different levels of leadership?
Don't know
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
As mainstreaming should be central to everyone’s processes, mainstreaming should be applicable to all, no matter the level of leadership. It is unclear how carving out levels would help achieve this.
5. Have we captured the core elements of strengthening leadership within the context of mainstreaming?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
As above, leaders are covered in the current provisions. We certainly agree that leaders need to comprehend the importance of rights and how it impacts their day-to-day functions. We would welcome actions to achieve this.
6. What actions would you recommend to ensure strengthening leadership as outlined above will contribute to mainstreaming?
Please give us your views:
Training.
Role-modelling.
Promoting existing forums of sharing good practice. Possibly more significant repercussions under PSED duties.
Developing accountability and transparency
7. Do you agree accountability and transparency are a key driver for mainstreaming equality and human rights?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
Accountability and transparency are a crucial part of effective policy delivery. It needs to be clear what action will be taken, by whom, and the consequences of this.
This is especially apt for disabled people as they can often be denied their rights and the legislation can be complex to understand. Accountability and transparency needs to be done and be clearly communicated to all.
8. Have we captured the core elements of accountability and transparency within the context of mainstreaming?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
9. What actions would you recommend to ensure greater accountability and transparency contributes to mainstreaming?
Please give us your views:
MACS recently reviewed the Health and Social Care Academy’s report on, ‘Investigating knowledge and understanding of the right to health’. An independent researcher, Helen Oxley, explores the limitations in accessing information about the right to health, alongside challenges in claiming and complaining about rights and barriers for specific groups in achieving equal access to the highest attainable standard of health. This is an issue of significant importance to disabled people.
As stated on the website:
‘The report highlights key findings including a lack of understanding amongst the public of the right to health and information pertaining to it. This is most significant for underrepresented groups and reflects wider structural inequalities.
Findings reveal that people often do not understand how to make a complaint, when their rights have not been met, due to the complex nature of complaints processes. Respondents suggested that only a small proportion of people who have access to resources, education, space, and experience are able to make a complaint. There can be fear of repercussion or victimisation which can prevent underrepresented groups or minority groups from making a complaint.
A lack of trust within public institutions and services can also impact people’s willingness to engage with information about the right to health. People’s ability to engage with their right to health can be tied to self-identity, self-perception of worth, and social status. Respondents expressed concern about
the onus being placed on individual’s to claim their rights rather than the responsibility of duty bearers to ensure rights are being fulfilled.
Respondents spoke about the need for a cultural shift where human rights and practices are embedded. They noted that training, capacity building, and resourcing would be need to underpin this.
The report concludes with a series of recommendations organised into three categories: Scottish Government and Healthcare bodies, the Third Sector and the ALLIANCE. Key themes within the recommendations include: the development of accessible information on human rights, human rights training for healthcare professionals, a streamlined complaints process, action to hold duty bearers to account and a commitment to research and engagement with those least likely to experience their rights.’
This reflects MACS’experience of barriers to accountability and transparency around rights and the areas where actions need to be taken.
Ensuring effective regulatory and policy environment
10. Do you agree that ensuring an effective regulatory and policy environment is a key driver for mainstreaming equality and human rights?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
We agree that, ‘Regulation and policy development is a core function of government. Producing regulations and policies that routinely, fully and properly consider equality and human rights is a key driver of mainstreaming, and therefore key to achieving better outcomes for those that experience disadvantage’. We believe that this could be done within the existing landscape.
11. Have we captured the core elements of ensuring an effective regulatory and policy environment within the context of mainstreaming?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
We agree that it is important, ‘To create a cohesive legislative framework that specifically supports Scotland’s ambition to be a global leader in equality and human rights.’We believe that the current policy landscape accounts for this.
12. What actions would you recommend to ensure that an effective regulatory and policy environment will contribute to the achievement of mainstreaming?
Please give us your views:
EQIA training for all public services staff.
Utilising evidence and experience
13. Do you agree that using evidence and experience is a key driver for mainstreaming equality and human rights?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
MACS has lived experience of disabled people at its heart. Decisions at all levels should be informed by lived experience. Only by listening to the voices of those most affected by inequalities can our policy mechanisms of redress be fit for purpose. This should be at the heart of all policy-making.
We believe that change needs to be quantified by data, allowing us to monitor progress towards a more equal society. We currently do this via input into the Monitoring and Evaluation Group in Transport Scotland and working with policy professionals to ensure we are seeing data reflect a move to more accessible, affordable and available transport for all. As stated in the 2024 report, ‘Our monitoring and evaluation approach ensures accountability on progress. It allows us to identify areas where we are performing well and others where we might need to take corrective action. This could be achieved via adjustments to actions in future Delivery Plans, as required, to bring us back on track towards achieving the transport system for the future as envisioned in our Strategy’. We believe such an approach to data should inform equalities and human rights.
14. Have we captured the core elements of utilising evidence and experience within the context of mainstreaming?
No
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
We would additionally stress the time and resource required to do meaningful engagement.
Robust and meaningful engagement with people with lived experience should inform all activity, and this should also involve the ‘engagers’undertaking disability awareness training, along with other protected characteristics, and this should be recommended. If the teams who are engaging with disabled people are not trained, many individuals may be excluded as there are many ways to communicate. A lack of training could build in barriers to communication - for example those whose first language may not be English and those who may require additional language support, etc.
Engagement will need to be planned into all processes and not an afterthought and it is good practice to remunerate participants for their time in passing on their personal expertise and experiences, therefore a budget should be built into the engagement process.
Accessible and inclusive engagement events can be challenging to organise in trying to cater for as many differing abilities as possible. People should also be encouraged to attend local groups who meet regularly rather than members of these groups attending an organised event. Many individuals will feel comfortable in their regular meeting settings with their usual support systems in place; for example, BSL interpreters, advocates etc.
It may help by providing an inaccessible example. For example, an event held just after 9am can be difficult for many people to attend for various reasons; personal care timings as some individuals cannot stipulate exact times for their care packages, availability of accessible transport not being utilised for school runs, or if the event is in the evening the local transport might stop at 6pm. Can the venue(s) be reached easily by accessible public transport?
15. What actions would you recommend to ensure that utilising evidence and experience as outlined above will contribute to the achievement of mainstreaming?
Please give us your views:
We would recommend ongoing training in EQIAs and robust adherence to the involvement requirements of PSED.
Enhancing capability and culture
16. Do you agree that enhancing capability and culture is a key driver for mainstreaming equality and human rights?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
17. Have we captured the core elements of enhancing capability and culture within the context of mainstreaming?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
Without the capability and culture to achieve mainstreaming, the ‘implementation gap’will continue and inequalities will persist.
18. What actions would you recommend to ensure that enhancing capability and culture as outlined above will contribute to the achievement of mainstreaming?
Please give us your views:
An ability to embed equality and human rights in all areas of work should be standard across the public sector as, without it, the PSED duties would be difficult to deliver in any meaningful way.
19. Do you agree that this Strategy will provide a foundation to influence a culture of mainstreaming equality and human rights within Scottish Government and the wider public sector?
Don't know
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
Through the current policy context, all public sector bodies and staff should have the culture and capabilities to mainstream equalities and human rights. These are a pre-curser to the current policies being effective. Creating a strategy does not seem to be an effective way to ensure existing policy becomes practice on the ground.
Improving capacity
20. Do you agree that improving capacity is a key driver for mainstreaming equality and human rights?
Yes
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
Without the capability and culture to achieve mainstreaming, the ‘implementation gap’will continue and inequalities will persist.
21. Have we captured the core elements of improving capacity within the context of mainstreaming?
Don't know
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
Without the capability and culture to achieve mainstreaming, the ‘implementation gap’will continue and inequalities will persist.
22. What actions would you recommend to ensure that improving capacity will contribute to the achievement of mainstreaming?
Please give us your views:
Actions as per other sections
How will the strategy support real change?
23. Do you think the proposed approach to a collated Action Plan will drive change?
No
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information. :
Collating existing action plans in one place seems to add another layer of superfluous strategy. Policy professionals and those who are already involved in these conversations know how to seek out this information -albeit rather scattered. It is a noble intention, yet another action plan would require ongoing updating which would be onerous. Driving change would come through delivery of the current actions committed to.
24. Do you think there is a need for a cross public sector toolkit to support mainstreaming of Equality and Human Rights?
No
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information. :
There already are documents and forums for sharing good practice. These could be better used effectively, nullifying the need for another toolkit. The current resources on offer are vast and it is questioned how impactful they are in bringing about change.
25. What practical steps would you include to make the toolkit an effective resource?
Please give us your views:
We believe this is a question best placed for communication, evaluation and engagement professionals. Resource should always be invested in ensuring resources are utilized.
As a minimum, all information should be accessible, in plain English and as short as possible. MACS believe we should aim to remove the need for
Easy-read altogether, as all policy documents would be concise and clear. In a context of overwhelming content, a toolkit would need to be eye-catching, visual, with simple diagrams. It would need to be promoted through multiple channels, and through groups and gatekeepers. As a ‘live document’, the ongoing way in which it is updated should be evident.
Reporting
26. What are your views on additional reporting requirements?
Additional stand-alone reporting requirements should not be created Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information.:
There is current limited time and resource to meet current reporting requirements, especially in an environment of budget cuts. Staff are spread too thinly and, in order to give all reporting due diligence, adding additional requirements would be counter-productive.
Overall Reflections
27. To what extent do the drivers capture the full range of activity required to mainstream equality and human rights?
Captures most of the range
Please give reasons for your answer or provide more information. :
MACS believes that the drivers seem to adequately articulate the current barriers to delivery of equalities and human rights on the ground. Ongoing resource and commitment is required to ensure stubborn and systemic inequalities are redressed in Scotland. Disabled people are demanding change at pace and scale. Whether a strategy is the correct solution to achieve this remains to be seen.
28. Please provide any further information that you think would be useful, which is not already covered in your previous responses.
Please give us your views: n/a
About you
1. What is your name?
Name:
Lynn Pilkington
2. What is your email address?
Email:
3. Are you responding as an individual or an organisation?
Organisation
4. What is your organisation?
Organisation:
MACS
5. The Scottish Government would like your permission to publish your consultation response. Please indicate your publishing preference:
Publish response only (without name)
6. We will share your response internally with other Scottish Government policy teams who may be addressing the issues you discuss. They may wish to contact you again in the future, but we require your permission to do so. Are you content for Scottish Government to contact you again in relation to this consultation exercise?
No
7. I confirm that I have read the privacy policy and consent to the data I provide being used as set out in the policy.
I consent
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