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Plenary, 08 Nov 2000

08 Nov 2000 · S1 · Plenary

Item of business

Equality Strategy

Maclean, Kate Lab Dundee West Watch on SPTV

I, too, congratulate Jackie Baillie and Margaret Curran on their new appointments. I look forward to working with them.

Fiona Hyslop said that she thought it would be better if we heard from the Equal Opportunities Committee's reporters. During the past year or so, both the committee and its reporters have heard oral evidence and seen written evidence that leaves us in no doubt that the massive discrimination and massive inequality that exists in every aspect of Scottish life must be tackled.

We realise that, because of intolerance, prejudice and—probably more often—ignorance, people are discriminated against. They are not allowed to reach their full potential and do not have access to the goods and services that we take for granted. In the worst cases, people are discriminated against, bullied and subjected to verbal and physical abuse. That situation is intolerable and I am sure that all members in the chamber agree that it must be dealt with, although we may come to different conclusions about how that should be done.

The equality strategy does not claim to be a solution to those problems, nor is it particularly self-congratulatory, as it identifies problems that have not been tackled in the past. The strategy must be mechanistic, as it must examine structures and processes.

I have been involved in equal opportunities since I was first elected to local government and over the years I have seen equal opportunities policies that, frankly, were not worth the paper they were written on. The structures and monitoring were not in place to ensure that those policies were effective.

Some organisations that were consulted when the strategy was being drawn up were critical because the consultation document was vague. However, they are quite happy with the strategy, because their input has been taken on board and included. Many equality organisations have welcomed the strategy and I am quite happy to listen to their comments on it.

I am particularly interested in section 3 of strategy, which deals with the Executive's commitment to mainstreaming. I am sure the minister is aware that the Equal Opportunities Committee has discussed mainstreaming on a number of occasions. On Tuesday, we agreed a research bid to examine that issue in more depth.

As an interim measure, we have agreed a draft checklist, which is based on one produced by the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality. We will consult other equality organisations on our checklist. After that, I intend to write to all the Parliament's committee conveners to ask them to build in the checklist to the work of scrutinising legislation. That temporary measure will be in place until more concrete proposals are made. Perhaps when the minister sums up, she will indicate how she thinks the committee's work on mainstreaming will fit in with the Executive's proposals.

I have a couple of questions on issues that concern me. Appendix 1 of the document, on the legislative framework, does not appear to mention the most recent European Union equal treatment directive—perhaps it is mentioned but, if so, I have not noticed it. That directive deals with significant changes to the law. The UK Government will have to ban discrimination in employment on the grounds of sexual orientation and religious belief within three years and on the grounds of age within six years. Once implemented, that directive will be a significant tool.

Various organisations have raised a second point with me. Jackie Baillie placed great emphasis on inclusive policy making when she opened the debate, but there is a concern that some smaller organisations and community groups do not have adequate resources to become involved in consultations. During the past year and a half, responding to consultations has put a considerable burden on organisations, although they are happy to be consulted. Are there any plans to ensure that they have adequate resources, given that private individuals are able to put massive amounts of money into campaigns against equality? It would be only fair if we were to redress that balance in some way, to ensure that organisations that are committed to pursuing our strategy are also adequately resourced.

I realise that the equality strategy is for the long term. In the meantime, the Executive must make an assumption for equality in all its proposals. Fiona McLeod made a good point about the Transport (Scotland) Bill. Although we managed to include equality provisions in the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2000, the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 and the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act 2000, we had to fight for them. Such provisions have been included because of the work of the committee and individual members of the Parliament—they have not just appeared. In future, when bills are introduced, I hope that there will be an assumption for equality.

I feel very positive about the equality strategy. I look forward to working with the Executive to achieve the objectives that are contained in the strategy. I have been critical in the past, but I am happy to support the Executive's motion.

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Plenary, 08 Nov 2000

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