Chamber and committees

Yes. Our intention is always to continue engagement as widely as possible.

It is well known that I concern myself with outcomes. Processes should help to achieve outcomes. They should not be hindering them or be overly cumbersome or difficult to navigate.

We are absolutely committed to advancing equality, and the PSED is an example of the important levers that we have available to us. We are leading by example to inspire other public bodies to put equality front and centre. However, we need to remember that it is ultimately for public bodies that are independent of Government to set out what they intend to achieve and how they will do that. I take a leadership role in that regard and, as you know, I take it very seriously, I have communicated that to a wide range of audiences and groups, both in person and in correspondence.

In engaging with the PSED, we also have to be mindful of the limits on legislative competence in such frameworks. Vuyi Stutley has gone over some of that detail and I will not repeat it, but we need to remember that, because it is a “due regard” duty, it is by its nature a procedural duty. That means that it is not outcomes focused in its form, but I am clear that the policy intention behind the PSED is substantive.

The Equality Act 2010, in which the duty sits, was intended to be transformative when it was introduced. It is a wide-ranging and on-going duty to engage in conscious consideration of the three needs, and we see that as a strength. If it required a narrower focus on identifying or achieving particular outcomes, we would see that as a limitation. It needs to be seen in the wider sense. I can go into further detail on that if you wish.

Nick Bland would like to add to what I have said.

I cannot speak on behalf of other public bodies. You would have to ask them.

Indeed.

Thank you very much, convener, and good morning to the committee. Thank you very much for the opportunity to discuss the report of your inquiry into the operation of the PSED in Scotland and my response. I also want to thank the stakeholders who gave evidence to the committee. Their insights add to the evidence about how the PSED works in practice, existing challenges and, of course, how those can be overcome. There is a lot for us to cover today and I welcome this discussion.

I am committed to a respectful, fair and diverse Scotland. The PSED and the Scotland-specific duties are important tools to achieve that goal. I am dedicated to demonstrating leadership to increase awareness of the PSED and the SSDs across the public sector. It is vital that public bodies understand and meet their obligations under the Equality Act 2010. I have championed equality and a culture of shared learning and accountability, including through engaging with ministerial colleagues and running round-table events for duty bearers and equality groups.

I seek to make the most effective use of all available powers. Notably, I used for the first time the power under regulation 11 of the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 when I wrote to duty bearers on 16 December, requiring them to consider our new equality and human rights mainstreaming toolkit.

We must continue to make Scotland’s collective response to the PSED more effective, and on 8 December we published our proposals for PSED improvement activity until December 2029 in the regulation 12 report. That was an important step towards that goal, which demonstrates our continued commitment. The regulation 12 report sets out a range of concrete actions to enhance leadership, capability and capacity in the private sector, with a focus on sharing good practice, and it highlights fostering good relations, which was one of the key themes in the committee’s inquiry.

Alongside the regulation 12 report, we published an impressive suite of mainstreaming resources, which I am proud of. They should help further establish equality and human rights at the heart of private sector decision making and service design. The suite includes the equality and human rights mainstreaming strategy, presenting principles and drivers for change; the mainstreaming action plan, showcasing 61 actions to embed equality and human rights across Government; and the online mainstreaming toolkit, featuring a self-assessment tool and over 100 practical resources to help duty bearers evaluate and strengthen their mainstreaming efforts.

I welcome the committee report’s emphasis on fostering good relations.

We continue to experience a regression on equality, diversity and rights around the world where hate against already vulnerable groups is becoming increasingly normalised. This division and violence has no place in Scotland. Fostering good relations is crucial to a safe, respectful and inclusive Scotland and that is why the Scottish Government is taking action. We have recently invested an additional £300,000 to strengthen community cohesion, partnering with the STV children’s appeal to support grass-roots projects that bring together people across generations, cultures and faith.

Our “We are Scotland” media campaign celebrates diversity and shared values, reminding us that Scotland is stronger for the differences that shape us. In addition, we continue to directly support a wide range of community organisations through investing £7.9 million this year in crucial work relating to community cohesion to uphold rights across all protected characteristics, fight discrimination, advance equality and foster good relations, and that includes funding for interfaith dialogue and anti-racism work. We have established the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland, known as AROS, a national centre of excellence to tackle structural racism and promote inclusion, for which we will provide £3 million between now and December 2027.

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Embedding equality and human rights across the private sector is essential. The mainstreaming suite, our programme of PSED improvement and our work to foster good relations demonstrate our continued commitment to meaningful action and to making the most effective use of the powers that we have. We will continue to do so to make Scotland a fairer, safer and more inclusive place for everyone. Thank you, convener.

Yes—I apologise if I was ambiguous; that was not my intention. We do collect data on age—everyone providing a public service has that responsibility. We get that data through various means, including from service users. We have all the data sets available through the census, and we can use that information to extrapolate and regionalise. That data is available.

Yes. I will provide a bit of context. The main aim of my meetings with the cabinet secretaries was to remind them of the public sector equality duty, the need for impact assessments and the Equality Act 2010. Any obvious areas of overlap between my portfolio and theirs were raised, along with other issues. To be transparent, I note that the meetings often lasted only 30 minutes so they were not detailed discussions. When maternity services were discussed, they were raised in the round with other healthcare services and provision in regard to accessibility and availability in general terms.

All decisions on maternity care should ensure the safety of mothers and babies, and should ensure that women who are giving birth and their families always receive safe, person-centred maternity care that is suited to their needs. Decisions about the place of birth should be made by women in consultation with their midwife and obstetricians, taking account of individual need and the circumstances. As a Government, we expect all NHS boards to provide maternity services that are delivered as close to home as practical, balanced with the need to ensure the safety of mother and baby.

The newly established Scottish maternity and neonatal task force will review the provision of rural maternity services. Implementing initiatives such as the best start programme, introducing continuity of care, developing community hubs and the increased use of Near Me to allow for remote consultations and appointments, where appropriate, all aim to improve delivery of maternity services in rural areas.

If there are further specific technical questions for the health portfolio, I am happy to take those away and get a response from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care.

I mentioned that the challenges are huge, including in transporting goods. When I visited Harris and Lewis, I saw at first hand machinery being used to drill down into enormously hard rock—specialised equipment is required, as well as the building materials. I also visited local builders who were taking part in apprenticeship schemes to increase the workforce. You can see how that becomes circular. If young people have good jobs—in that case, it was in the house building sector—they are more likely to stay and to add to the economy and build up communities. The challenges are absolutely massive, but we recognise that good-quality affordable housing is essential to attract and retain people. That links to the issue of having the right type of housing in the right place, bearing in mind the needs of young families as well as ageing populations.

We are building on the delivery of more than 12,000 affordable homes in rural and island communities between 2016 and March 2024. Earlier, I mentioned the figure of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 10 per cent of those in rural and island communities. That is supported by the rural and islands housing action plan, which was published in October 2023 and which was developed with strong engagement from rural and island stakeholders. There are demand-led funds, such as the £30 million rural and island housing fund, which was recently extended to 2028, and the £25 million rural affordable homes for key workers fund. A range of things are going on.

We are grateful to the committee for the invitation to give evidence as part of the short inquiry into human rights in rural Scotland. I begin by acknowledging the role that rural communities play as part of Scotland’s social and economic fabric. Rural Scotland accounts for 98 per cent of the country’s landmass and around 18 per cent of its population. The Highlands and Islands region alone makes a huge economic contribution. In 2022, islands, remote rural and mainly rural areas accounted for about £42 billion, or 25 per cent, of Scotland’s gross value added. Rural Scotland is central to Scotland’s energy transition and home to some of our most innovative sectors, including the space, tourism and food and drink sectors.

Our rural communities have shown themselves to be dynamic and resilient and are well-placed to seize opportunities in feeding, powering and inspiring us all. However, I acknowledge the unique challenges that those communities face, including barriers in accessing public services and opportunities that are more readily found in urban areas. Those experiences shape daily life and can impact on how individuals can access and claim their human rights. The distances often mean long journeys to healthcare and education. Digital connectivity is improving but it still affects work, learning and participation. Economic activity can be seasonal. Costs are higher and housing scarce and costly, especially where demand for second homes is strong. Tackling those pressures needs approaches that are rooted in rural realities and that build on community strength and resilience.

I know that those and other issues were raised last week when the committee took evidence from organisations that are active in our rural communities. Similarly, the Scottish Human Rights Commission’s report from last year on “Economic, social and cultural rights in the Highlands and Islands” is an important intervention, as it reflects some of the experiences of people living across rural communities in the north of Scotland. The rights that it focuses on—health, housing and social security—are everyday rights. They go to the heart of decisions around public service delivery, quality and accessibility.

The report explores some of the challenges that I mentioned and examines them through the lens of international human rights law. It pioneers a new model of human rights monitoring in combining data with lived experience. Although the report acknowledges that it is not a definitive assessment of rights realisation in the Highlands and Islands, it is nevertheless an important reflection of lived experience in those communities, and it shows that there is more to do to ensure better enjoyment of rights equally across Scotland.

All those who are responsible for services in rural areas should use the report’s findings to drive improvement. In May, the Scottish Government responded, outlining actions that we are taking on the report’s eight recommendations and demonstrating progress to support better rights realisation for rural communities. That includes our forthcoming rural delivery plan, which will set out actions to address the distinct issues that are faced in rural Scotland, and our new national islands plan, which is guided by islanders to deliver thriving, sustainable and successful island communities.

Our progress is also reflected in investing in areas such as housing, where we are delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 10 per cent in remote rural and island communities; digital connectivity, where our R100—reaching 100 per cent—contracts have already delivered 16 new fibre-optic subsea cables, providing resilient connectivity to 15 islands; and transport, where we fund initiatives to make transport affordable, including free bus travel for young people, disabled people and everyone over the age of 60.

However, we recognise that the journey is on-going. Our intention to bring forward a new human rights bill in the next parliamentary session seeks to strengthen accountability and improve outcomes in everyday areas such as health and housing. That aims to bring economic, social and cultural rights closer to home so that communities, including rural communities, feel reflected in the decisions that duty bearers make. That is why I have been relentless in driving the Government’s ambitious agenda to ensure that equality and human rights are embedded in all that we do, which is supported by the imminent publication of an overarching mainstreaming strategy.

Thank you once again for the opportunity to attend today. I welcome your continued scrutiny and support for the work that we do together, alongside our national human rights institutions, to advance rights for all communities across Scotland.

The Scottish Government shares the committee’s ambition in that regard. We want to improve labour market outcomes and experiences for people living in rural and island communities. Through the no one left behind approach, we aim to deliver an all-age, place-based, person-centred model of employability, with support being provided across communities and a strengthened partnership approach that involves the Scottish Government and local government working together with public, private and third sector organisations to design and deliver services. To back that up, we are investing £90 million in 2025–26 in the delivery of devolved employability services across Scotland, including rural and island communities.

Addressing labour market shortages requires a collaborative, concerted approach from a range of services. We are implementing activity across Government and are committed to doing more. I look forward to reading the committee’s report and seeing your suggestions and recommendations.

Collectively, with partners, our aim is to build an employability system that tackles labour market inequalities by being more responsive and joined up and by aligning with the needs of employers and service provision, and which also ensures that the work is fair and accessible. Services are in place in all 32 local authorities, including rural and island areas, but we have to remember that full control over employment and industrial relations legislation remains reserved to the UK Parliament.