A fairer Scotland

Briefing for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election: our recommendations for a fairer Scotland

We believe that all parties should commit to these policy priorities for the 2021 to 2026 session of the Scottish Parliament:

• There should be a review of public authorities’ implementation of the Fairer Scotland Duty final guidance (to be published April 2021) during the next Parliament. The Duty is a key tool for addressing socioeconomic disadvantage, and represents an opportunity to ensure that our understanding of socioeconomic disadvantage relies less on place and more on individual factors including income and wealth, and the intersections with protected characteristics.
• The next National Planning Framework should embed equality as a key consideration at the outset of planning strategies and decisions. Housing and infrastructure will be a crucial part of economic and social recovery and planning decisions should promote equality. In particular, the next Framework should make an explicit link between planning and the Public Sector Equality Duty.
• Equality should be embedded in Scotland’s Climate Change Plan. This should include a commitment to understanding the effects of climate change, and mitigating actions, on groups with protected characteristics, including for example how a move to net zero emissions could affect disabled people’s mobility.