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Equality and Human Rights Commission

Scotland Annual Review 2014/15

Scotland Annual Review 2014 -15

Equality and Human Rights Commission · www.equalityhumanrights.com 1Publication Scotland 2016.


Contents

Introduction from the Scotland Commissioner............................................................2

Who are we are and what we stand for.......................................................................3

Annual review introduction..........................................................................................5

Changing and influencing laws: our work with Government, the public sector and local authorities...........................................................................................................7

Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill..................................................7

Prejudice-based bullying in schools.........................................................................8

Public Sector Equality Duty.....................................................................................9

Gypsy Traveller site provision................................................................................10

Promoting equality in the Modern Apprenticeship programme..............................11

Other interventions in brief....................................................................................12

Helping the public – notable legal success stories....................................................13

Failure to provide BSL interpretation.....................................................................13

Boxing Scotland.....................................................................................................14

Other interventions in brief....................................................................................14

Out and about...........................................................................................................15

Looking to the future – 2015/16................................................................................17



Introduction from the Scotland Commissioner

The Equality and Human Rights Commission works to improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

This annual review of our work undertaken in 2014/15 shows how seriously we take our mandate to ensure that equality and human rights are a reality for everyone in Scotland both now and in future years.

Our important work is contributing to the shaping of a modern Scotland in many ways, from tackling human trafficking, improving British Sign Language (BSL) access, making it harder for prejudice-based bullying to take place in our schools and working to improve the overall performance of public bodies across Scotland.

The drive, commitment and expertise of the Scotland Directorate are central to the delivery of these achievements and I wish to thank the staff and those who have worked with us in partnership to create real change. I also wish to thank the members of the Scotland Committee whose support and guidance has been invaluable in steering the strategic direction and work of the Commission in Scotland and across Great Britain.

Kaliani Lyle

Scotland Commissioner



Who are we are and what we stand for

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the National Equality Body (NEB) for Scotland, England and Wales, working across the nine protected grounds set out in the Equality Act 2010: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We are an ‘A-status’ National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) and share our mandate to promote and protect human rights in Scotland with the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC).

Through all of our work - with the public sector, the voluntary sector, the private sector, the Scottish Government, working with other organisations and with individuals – we seek to ensure that our society is one in which everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Scotland Team

Led by Director Alastair Pringle, there are 17 staff in Scotland made up of a small legal team; policy, parliamentary and communications expertise; researcher; and staff who support the delivery of our business plan and our Scotland Committee. We work on a wide variety of issues important to the people of Scotland, as set out in our annual Business Plan.

The Board and our Scotland Committee

Our Board of Commissioners is responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of the EHRC across Great Britain and includes the Scotland Commissioner Kaliani Lyle.

The Scotland Committee , chaired by Kaliani, is responsible for ensuring the overall work of the Commission reflects the needs and priorities of the people of Scotland.


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http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/about-us/about-commission/commissioners/about-our-commissioners

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Committee members come from all walks of life and bring with them a breadth of experience that has proved invaluable to the Commission.

The Scotland Committee holds half of its meetings in towns across Scotland, engaging with different communities providing them with the opportunity to influence the ways in which the Commission’s work can and does impact.



Annual review introduction

Scotland benefits from the wide range of work the Commission delivers across Great Britain as a whole. Our team work closely with colleagues in England and Wales on programmes spanning the public and private sector, domestic and international human rights and in using our legal powers. The Commissions’ work in 2014/15 across GB is detailed in the EHRC Annual Report. This report highlights just some of the notable outcomes from 2014/15 that have been delivered in Scotland. The report sets out what we did, why it was necessary and the impact it had.

Examples include:

Our work with Government, the public sector and local authorities which has changed and influenced laws and practices

Our work on legal cases that has helped to improve the lives of individuals and communities, and

Our public information and transfer of expertise work, which has helped people in Scotland be aware of equality and human rights legislation and how it can help them.

What have we achieved?

In 2014/15, over 3,000 lawyers and advisors benefited from our transfer of expertise programme in Scotland

This included over 800 people who regularly received our legal bulletin.

38 pieces of legislation benefitted from our expertise through consultation responses in this reporting period.

The Criminal Justice System in Scotland have now made a series of changes to their reporting processes to make it easier for disabled people to report harassment, following the EHRC’s report on the subject resulting in an increase in prosecution and reporting.

British Sign Language users in Scotland stand to get increased access to BSL interpreters if they are a patient, after the EHRC supported a case on behalf of a deaf patient.


http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/publication/annual-report-and-accounts-1-april-2014-%E2%80%93-31-march-2015


As a result of an EHRC inquiry, victims of human trafficking will be legally protected and traffickers prosecuted due to the legal framework provided by the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act. Since 2010, the EHRC have been involved in this process via recommendations, lobbying, consultations and evidence submissions. In October 2015, the Scottish Government passed the globally lauded Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act into law.



Changing and influencing laws: our work with Government, the public sector and local authorities

Public services are vital in ensuring that everyone who needs to can benefit from supportive and assistive services which can increase their life choices and chances.

The provision of good quality accessible housing, health and education are instrumental in helping individuals and communities to grow, to thrive and to prosper. The fact that Scottish public bodies also have specific equality duties to meet demonstrates the strategic significance of public services in the promotion and protection of equality.

Some of our work in this sector in 2014/15 included

Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill

Why:

In 2011 we published the results of our formal inquiry into Human Trafficking in Scotland, which our Investigating Commissioner Baroness Helena Kennedy called ‘the most prevalent and pernicious manifestation of human enslavement’. The inquiry focused on general aspects of trafficking as well as having an explicit focus on commercial sexual exploitation. The findings of the inquiry led to a series of ten recommendations aimed at those with responsibilities to prevent and tackle human trafficking in Scotland and to support its victims. On the strength of these recommendations, a Government Bill was presented to the Scottish Parliament.

How:

The Commission worked to influence the Bill to ensure it met the recommendations of the inquiry and also contributed our expertise to the Scottish Government led Anti-Trafficking Progress Group.



What impact: Scotland now has, for the first time, an accurate annual estimate of how many people are identified as trafficked – 55 in 2014 with victims coming from 18 countries including Poland, Slovakia, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana and Nigeria. Scotland has also now seen its first successful prosecution of human traffickers.

Prejudice-based bullying in schools

Why: Regular consultation with stakeholders and charities provided us with evidence which led us to look at the problem of prejudice-based bullying in more detail. It was clear that there was insufficient knowledge of the extent that this bullying was occurring in Scottish schools.

How:

During 2014/15 we undertook a large scale research project into the scale and impact of prejudice-based bullying in Scottish secondary schools. The research, based on findings from 1,250 pupils and 330 teachers, concluded that procedures for supporting pupils being bullied could be improved.

One in four of the pupils surveyed said that they were aware of peers in their school experiencing prejudice-based bullying, while just over half of pupils who had themselves experienced bullying said they had reported it to their school. The most commonly experienced forms of prejudice-based bullying were based on race, disability, sexual orientation and perceived socio-economic status.

This project was guided by a stakeholder steering group, including; the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, Education Scotland, the Scottish Government, and Stonewall Scotland. The research stage of this project was conducted by LGBT Youth Scotland and RespectMe.

What impact:

‘Prejudice-based bullying in Scottish schools’ was published on our website in March 2015 and attracted positive media coverage in Scottish newspapers and television. The research provided evidence that there is scope to improve the way in which schools respond to prejudice-based bullying and harassment, and identified a number of recommendations.



This has led to ongoing activity in 2015/16, working with Scottish Government, Education Scotland and other key agencies to develop appropriate responses to our recommendations which we hope will measurably reduce the incidence of prejudice-based bullying in our schools.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Why:

The EHRC is the regulator of the Public Sector Equality Duty and Scottish Specific Duties and we undertake this role through providing information to public bodies, promoting compliance, monitoring progress and where necessary undertaking enforcement work.

In 2014/15, we built on the findings of our previous year’s ‘Measuring Up?’ work, which monitored the performance of listed authorities against the Scottish Specific Equality Duties.

The ‘Measuring Up?’ series of reports in 2013/14 highlighted in the previous year that only 1 in 3 listed authorities published robust equality outcomes (one of the requirements of the Scottish Specific Equality Duties) that were clear and measurable.

How:

We took the view that poor quality equality outcomes would make it difficult for authorities to report effectively on their progress in 2015 and would be unlikely to achieve positive change. We therefore undertook a programme of work which:

Supported listed authorities to evaluate their methods for setting equality outcomes and the quality of the outcomes themselves

Identified areas where authorities needed to improve

Supported authorities to create their own improvement plan.

What impact:

46 listed authorities participated in the project. 36 authorities successfully revised their outcomes and two agreed to carry out further work after additional areas for improvement were highlighted to them.

We published a short report of this improvement work alongside an external evaluation presenting the views and experiences of a range of participating



authorities. We also published an equality outcomes self-assessment toolkit, which continues to be used by a range of public authorities.

As a result of all our ‘Measuring Up?’ work, we now have a better picture of how well all public bodies in Scotland are complying with their legal equality duties, have a range of examples of good practice from which others can learn, and have provided all public bodies with a set of tools for self-evaluation and self-improvement.

Gypsy Traveller site provision

Why:

Both the Commission’s own research and the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities report into the living conditions of Gypsy Travellers (2013) highlighted the often ‘squalid conditions endured by tenants on most council sites’. We were also very aware that little if any progress had been made in establishing new sites for Gypsy Travellers despite the availability of funding for sites until 2011. Much of the reason for this had been the opposition to the establishment of new sites from local residents.

The Commission identified some local authorities that appeared to be having more success than others in making improvements in site provision and decided to undertake work to understand what factors led to these improvements in order to share the learning with those councils who had made little or no progress.

How:

There were two elements to this programme. The first was to commission Dr Phil Brown of the University of Salford to conduct a review of positive practice in Scotland to identify how Local Authorities had successfully managed to establish new provision for Gypsy Travellers. The aim was to produce a resource for those Local Authorities who have repeatedly said that establishing sites in the face of local opposition was too difficult.

The resulting report, which was launched in January 2015, identified 4 areas – Falkirk, Perth and Kinross, South Ayrshire, and Carlisle – that the authors felt exemplified different and creative ways of approaching the issue. Common messages that came from the report were the need for early planning and consistent engagement with all sides, the positive role that Planning Officers can play in assisting Gypsy Travellers to put forward realistic plans and partnership working to choose the most appropriate sites for development.


http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/publication/developing-successful-site-provision-scotland%E2%80%99s-gypsytraveller-communities

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_EqualOpportunitiesCommittee/Reports/eor-13-01_summary.pdf

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/Scotland/Research/research_report_assessing_the_accomodation_needs_of_gypsy_traveller_in_scotland.pdf


The second element of the project was to work in partnership with the Scottish Government, Gypsy Travellers, the voluntary sector and other specialist agencies to create guidance for local authorities on model tenancy agreements, measures of quality and facilities to ensure that Gypsy Travellers were wherever possible, afforded tenancies of a similar quality to those found in local authority housing. The group also conducted research into the number of sites and pitches available across Scotland and identified that two local authorities in particular accounted for almost 2/3rds of the total number in Scotland – South Lanarkshire and Fife.

What impact:The research report was launched in January 2015 and attracted considerable favourable publicity. The longer-term impact of the research will be evaluated over time as the planning and delivery of new sites is still a lengthy process but there is now a clear practice base available to local authorities wanting to establish new sites.

Promoting equality in the Modern Apprenticeship programme

Why:

In 2013, the EHRC in Scotland published research by Herriot Watt University, which identified that ‘the uptake of Modern Apprenticeships (MA) in Scotland is typified by significant gender segregation, with ethnic minorities and disabled people also appearing to have low levels of access to all forms of apprenticeships’.

How:

Following the publication of this report, we have worked with Skills Development Scotland and the Wood Commission on developing the young workforce and the Scottish Government’s employability team to improve access to the MA programme. The Wood Commission was particularly influential as it, for the first time, recommended the adoption of stretching targets to reduce gender segregation and increase access to MAs for women, disabled people, ethnic minorities and care leavers.

What impact:

Skills Development Scotland have reported small increases in access for disabled people and ethnic minorities, and are trialling a variety of ways to increase the


http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/Scotland/Research/modern_apprenticeships_final.pdf


number of young women applying for what has traditionally been seen as ‘men’s work’.

Other interventions in brief

In 2014, the EHRC in Scotland issued five pieces of guidance on the equality and human rights implications of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014. The guidance particularly focussed on what the Act meant for public bodies, religious organisations, employers and service providers and schools.

Following the EHRCs ground-breaking report on the harassment of disabled people, ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’, we supported Inclusion Scotland to develop a toolkit for Disabled Peoples Organisations and organisations that support disabled people to raise awareness of the issue and provide advocacy. The toolkit is now available on Inclusion Scotland’s website.



Helping the public – notable legal success stories

The Commission has a number of legal powers including: supporting individuals to take equality or equality and human rights cases; intervening in cases raised by others to help the Court make its decisions; raising judicial reviews in the Commission’s own name where we believe public authorities may be breaching equality or human rights law and; conducting inquiries into thematic areas such as human trafficking or disability harassment or carrying out formal investigations where we suspect a body may have acted unlawfully.

We use our legal strategy to decide which powers can best be used to tackle particular problems.

Some of our work in 2014/15 included:

Failure to provide BSL interpretation

The Commission supported a NHS patient to take a legal case where NHS Tayside had failed to provide her with a BSL interpreter throughout her seven-day stay in hospital. As part of the settlement of the case, NHS Tayside entered into an agreement with us under S23 of the Equality Act 2006, committing itself to improve performance. In the Agreement, which covers a two-year period, NHS Tayside committed to meeting a number of outcomes, which together will ensure that every patient with additional communication requirements receives the same level of health care services as other patients.

The Commission, believing that this issue was unlikely to be unique to one health board, approached the Scottish Government to agree how they might work with NHS Scotland to improve performance in this area across the sector.


http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/publication/strategic-litigation-policy


Boxing Scotland

We entered into an agreement with Boxing Scotland to ensure fair access to their support for female boxers according to their level of experience and ability. Boxing Scotland committed to an improvement action plan, setting themselves targets to further increase participation and development of women in boxing in Scotland.

We have continued to work with Boxing Scotland who have demonstrated improvement in the access for women boxers from junior level to performance level. This work has also led to a review of how sportscotland can work more effectively to promote access to sport for all in Scotland.

Other interventions in brief

The Commission used its enforcement powers to intervene in a judicial review raised by an elderly prisoner with dementia. He had been unable to be considered for parole due to a social work failure to carry out an assessment for over two years.

We intervened in a judicial review in relation to an elderly man whose daughter had used a power of attorney to place him in a care home that he did not want to stay in. As well as referring to the individuals’ rights under the European Convention, we outlined the state’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

The Commission also intervened in an appeal to the Court of Session to set out its view on the meaning of age and disability discrimination contained in the Equality Act 2010. The case involved a local authority who had been found to have discriminated against a young man by its refusal to fund an extra year of schooling for him.



Out and about

Our legal team delivers a Transfer of Expertise (ToE) programme each year to lawyers, voluntary sector advisors and trade unions to increase awareness and understanding of equality and human rights law and to improve access to better quality advice on discrimination and human rights. Ultimately access to better information and advocacy is a means of reducing discrimination claims through conciliation and negotiation, but also ensures advisors are able to recognise and use discrimination law where necessary.

In 2014/15 this involved:

A programme of 12 conferences and local stakeholder engagement events across Scotland, as well as delivering training at other organisations’ events, including the Legal Services Agency, the Centre for Mental Health and Incapacity Law, United Employment Lawyers Group and Sense Scotland.

A development programme to engage with and support Scottish University law clinics. The clinics operate across Scotland and provide free advice and representation to the public through students, supervised by academics and solicitors. Our objective was to improve the standard of advice on equality and human rights law provided, by building relationships with the clinics and by providing training and support.

The production of an Equality Law Handbook for lay advisors. Discrimination law can be complex and this short Handbook was designed to provide the basics of the law while also signposting our more in-depth guidance.

For the last three years, the team have also produced a bi-monthly legal e-bulletin, containing news of important cases, Commission activity and explanatory articles, which is distributed to around 800 advisors across Scotland.

The Commission also responded to a number of speaking requests. During 2014/15 we received 124 requests, 50 of which we were able to respond positively to. The three most popular areas of request were on good community relations, Human Rights, and the Public Sector Equality Duty. The vast majority of these inputs were in the Central Belt, with Edinburgh and Glasgow dominating. However, we were also


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able to provide inputs in Orkney, Dumfries and Galloway, Perth, West

Dunbartonshire and Moray.



Looking to the future – 2015/16

In November 2015 we published ‘Is Britain Fairer?’ and at the same time launched our consultation on our Strategic Plan for 2016-19. In January 2016 we will publish ‘Is Scotland Fairer?’.

These publications will set out the key objectives for our work, and provide the evidence base which will underpin what we do, and guide our work over the next 3 years.

During 2015/16 we will also be completing our fourth assessment of practice by public bodies on the Public Sector Equality Duty, publishing research into the experiences of older people, of migrants and in particular of migrants working in the food processing industries in Scotland.


http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/about-us/our-work/key-projects/britain-fairer/great-britain-report


© 2016 Equality and Human Rights CommissionFirst published January 2016

Equality and Human Rights Commission

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