Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Equality Monitoring Report

2012/13

CONTENTS

Executive Summary and Key Highlights1

Introduction

The General Duty3

Specific Duties 3

The Structure of the Report4

Organisational Framework for Equality

Achieving Equality through Leadership5

Equality Impact Assessments (EQIA) 6

Involving External Stakeholders 7

Supporting Parliamentary Business

Engaging the Public with Parliamentary Business 8

Accessible Information and Access to Proceedings 11

Official Report 12

Time for Reflection 12

Non Government Bills Unit 13

Supporting Members

Providing Support and Adjustments 14

Members Expenses Scheme 14

Services to the Public

Languages in the Parliament 15

Accessibility Provision for Visitors 16

Accessibility of the Building 17

Equality in Procurement 17

The Scottish Parliamentary Service

Staff Experience Survey 19

Engaging Staff in Equality 19

Diversity of the SPS 20

Improvement Plan 25

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND KEY HIGHLIGHTS

This is the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body’s (SPCB) third equality monitoring report which covers the period April 2012 – March 2013. The report demonstrates the SPCB’s achievements on equality andbrings together information on how its policies and practices have advanced equality. It is aligned to the SPCB Strategic Plan and covers four main areas:

  • Parliamentary business;
  • Members;
  • Public; and
  • The Scottish Parliamentary Service.

In addition, the report demonstrates compliance with the Equality Act (2010) publishing information on how the SPCB is meeting the General Duty and its equality objectives set out within the SPCB Equality Framework.

The last year has shown that the SPCB continues to provide a strong commitment to equality. The SPCB takes equality seriously and continues to strive towards ensuring that equality is embedded as part of its decision making processes at every level of the organisation. By monitoring the impact of its progress on equality, the SPCB hopes to achieve itsgoal of delivering services and policies that reflect the needs of all Members, staff and members of the public.The progress made by the SPCB can be demonstrated through its achievements during the year.

The main highlights in 2012/13 include:

  • The Presiding Officer introduced Parliament Daysprogramme in Autumn 2012 with the aim of reaching out to a wider and more diverse audience particularly people outwith the central belt;
  • The overall design of the new External Security Facility has enhanced the accessibility of the Parliament building. The facility opens in August 2013;
  • A Modern Apprenticeship Scheme was launched in March 2013to increase employment opportunities for young people in the Parliament;
  • A staff experience survey was carried out which highlighted a positive response from staff on how the SPCB’s equality policiesare viewed - 97% of staff regard the SPCB as an inclusive organisation that is committed to upholding equality and diversity;
  • New equality employment monitoring arrangements have been implemented which extend beyond race, disability and gender – the first reporting of this data is included in this report;
  • The SPCB made its information more accessible to a wider audience through social media channels and increased use of videos and images to highlight the work of the Parliament;
  • A review of Equality Impact Assessments was carried out and a newly revised form was developed;
  • The Official Report of First Minister’s Questions (FMQs)has been made more accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people by way of reducing the publishing time to two hoursfromFirst Minister’s Question Time being completed;
  • There have been a series of events in the Parliament which have helped Membersto engage with groups who are underrepresented in the Parliament including MSP sponsored events, and SPCB events including the Carers Parliament event, Festival of Politics Youth Day and International Women’s Day;
  • New BSL videos were produced to support the introduction of the BSL bill and to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing peopleunderstand the bills process and know what to expect if they are to appear as a witness before a committee; and
  • A feasibility study was carried out on the development of subtitling for broadcastsproduced by the Parliament. This has led to new developments in subtitling for parliamentary broadcasts to improve the accessibility of parliamentary information to deaf and hard of hearing people.

INTRODUCTION

This report is the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body’s (SPCB) third equality monitoring report which complies with the General Duty imposed by section 149 of the Equality Act (2010). It provides a comprehensive report on the SPCB’s progress on equality and the steps taken to mainstream equality.

In complying with the Act, the information presented in this report relates to persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and who are members of the Scottish Parliament (Members); Members’ staff; Scottish Parliamentary Service (SPS) staff; contractors;visitors; and members of the public. The Act covers nine protected characteristics – the grounds on which discrimination is unlawful, namely: age; disability; gender; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; marriage and civil partnership; race; religion and belief; and sexual orientation.

The General Duty

The SPCB is legally required to meet the General Duty of the Equality Act (2010). There are three parts to this Duty to which the SPCB must give due regard:

  • Elimination of unlawful discrimination;
  • Advancement of equality of opportunity; and
  • Fostering of good relations between people who share a protected characteristic.

In order to demonstrate due regard, it is the responsibility of the SPCB to ensure that these three parts of the Duty are reflected in its core business;

  • That its policies and practices are fair and inclusive;
  • The business of the Parliament is made accessible to everyone, and
  • In fostering good relations, the SPCB promotes awareness and encourages people with protected characteristics to engage and participate in the activities of the Parliament where their participation is disproportionately low.

Specific Duties

Subsequently in October 2011, the UK government introduced Specific Duties to help public bodies meet the General Duty. This requires the SPCB as a public body to:

  • Publish information to demonstrate compliance with the General Duty at least once a year;
  • Develop equality objectives which are specific and measurable, in pursuance of the three aims of the General Duty; and
  • Publish information and equality objectives in a manner that is accessible to the public.

This report essentially meets the Specific Duties requirement to publish information on the General Duty and is published on the Scottish Parliament website with different formats available. The equality objectives are also available on the Parliament website. These objectives are included in the SPCB Equality Action Plan 2011-2016 which will next be reviewed in 2015.

The Structure of the Report

The remainder of the report is set out as follows:

Section 1: Organisational Framework for Equality

Section 2: Parliamentary Business

Section 3:Supporting Members

Section 4: Service to the Public

Section5:The Scottish Parliamentary Service

In addition, an Improvement Plan is attached to this report which highlights any new actions derived from this year’s report and progress made on the actions from the previous year. These actions are incorporated into the SPCB’s Equality Action Plan 2011-16 which is available on the Scottish Parliament website.

ORGANISATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR EQUALITY

For equality policies to be successful it is vital for any organisation to provide strong leadership on equality and to have a framework in place which allows equality to be effectively mainstreamed into its everyday business. To make this happen, the SPCB has set out a five year plan for how it will promote equality across the organisation. In addition, arrangements have been put in place to support the delivery of this plan and the mainstreaming of equality.

This section of the report provides an update on how these arrangements are being met with the focus on leadership commitment to equality; equality impact assessments (EQIAs);and the involvement of external stakeholders.

Achieving Equality through Leadership

Leadership is central to delivering the SPCB framework for equality. There is aclear vision from the top that recognises equality as a priority for the organisation and a strong belief that equality provides better policies and services for Members, staff and members of the public.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Bodycontinues to promote equality and has supported a number of initiatives in the last year. They have initiated a feasibility study into subtitling for parliament broadcasts;a review of the provision of services available for people with autism; and a review of how contractors who deliver on site services engage with equality.The SPCB has also endorsed a number of other initiatives that have been considered or agreed by the Leadership Group.

The Leadership Group(LG) comprises the Clerk/Chief Executive, the Solicitor to the Parliament, Assistant Clerk/Chief Executives and Heads of Group who in accordance with the SPCB Equality Framework are identified champions for equality. Equality issues are regularly discussed at Leadership Group meetings in respect of decisions that impact on the needs of Members, users and staff with different protected characteristics. They have considered various issues on equal pay on the basis of race, gender and disability: gender balance at a leadership group level, reasonable adjustments for disabled staff within attendance management procedures;and the impact of parliamentary sitting times on staff (for example, carers of dependents, disabled and part time staff).

The Clerk/Chief Executivein his role continues to provide strong leadership in promoting equality throughout the organisation and through external engagements. When engaging with staff the Clerk/Chief Executive has highlightedthe importance of equality policies within the organisation and encouraged the use of EQIAs and promoted policies such as the SPCB’s Work Life Balance policies.

Assistant Clerk/Chief Executives have championed equality by having regular meetings with each of their Group Head direct reports and overseeing the delivery of their Group’s equality objectives. They have championed initiatives such as the Culture and Respect in Security project and accessibility of the External Security Facility.

Group Heads have set their own personal objectives for ensuring that equality is reflected in their respective business areas. Below is an example of the commitment made by aGroup Head to champion equality through their leadership role.

  • As a Group Head I have:
  • Discussed and included equality objectives in office plans within Group.
  • Agreed equality objectives for Office Heads and encouraged equality objectives in performance appraisal throughout the Group.
  • Ensured that equality considerations are reflected in delivery of the projects and strategic plans. For example Parliament Days, one of the high level activities in the current Public Engagement Strategy, has a specific focus on underrepresented groups, which includes some of the protected groups.
  • Ensured Equality Impact Assessments undertaken as necessary for new projects.
  • Ensured that Leadership Group has the opportunity to raisespecific issues relating to equality and any specific actions taken as part of the policy, thereby raising profile of issues relating to equalities and changes made.
  • Made use of the Equality Advisory Group for their views.
  • Championed development of organisational resources and plans to develop improved services that will also improve accessibility to diverse groups.

Equality Impact Assessments

Equality impacts assessments(EQIAs) were introduced in 2009 and are useful in determining the overall impact of a new policy, service or project on different groups, communities or individuals.As a way of checking whether EQIAs are being completed, the SPCB/LG secretariats have animportant role in ensuring that EQIAs are completed for any relevant papers to SPCB/LG. During the year,24 EQIAs were completed. This figure is lower than in previous years (see table below) however EQIAs that were completed supported various policy decisions and helped make a difference to how policies and practices impact on different communities, groups and individuals. This is evident in some of the EQIAs that were completed during the reporting period. These include:

  • Introduction of a Cycle to Work Scheme;
  • Review of the Complaints Policy;
  • Introduction of tablet devices (iPads) within the Parliament;
  • Identification of possible future venues for the Parliament's travelling exhibition, Moving Stories;
  • Parliamentary sitting times and the impact on staff with diverse needs; and
  • Review of catering service opening hours and the impact this has on building users;

YearNumber of competed EQIAs

2013 24

2012 35

2011 53

With EQIAs having been in place for three years, a review was completed in 2012 to assess the overall impact of EQIAs and whether they needed to be improved. The review highlighted that EQIAs have been effective since their inception and that the only changessuggested related to the actual form used to complete EQIAs. With a launch date of 1 August 2013, it is envisaged that further promotion of the new form should lead to an increase in the number of EQIAs being completed in the future.

Involving External Stakeholders

The SPCB Equality Advisory Group has continued to play a pivotal role in the equality work of the SPCB to help reflect the needs of all potential users when making decisions about services and in consideringany relevant bills or inquiries. In the last year they have provided equalities advice on the Regulatory Reform Bill; the SPCB Publications Strategy and gave advice to the Events Team on how they can increase their engagement with black and minority ethnic communities who are identified as an underrepresented group within the SPCB’sPublic Engagement Strategy. They were also involved in sub groups to review the accessibility of the External Security Facility; the EQIA process and the Equal Pay/Gender EqualityAudit.

ThisGroup has been helpful with providing their expertise on equality matters and being able to offer a different perspective to support decisions made by SPCB staff. This Group will continue to meet with the next review of its membership in October 2013.

SUPPORTING PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS

Engaging the Public with Parliamentary Business

The SPCB’sPublic Engagement Strategy focuses on building the public’s understanding of the Parliament’s work and increasing its engagement to reach out to all people of Scotland including communities who are less engaged with the Parliament. The strategy currently identifies three groups who are underrepresented in the Parliament including young people, black and minority ethnic communities and disabled people. There is also a commitment within the SPCB Equality Framework to gather data on the engagement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender(LGBT) groups and people of faith and non-faith groups to establish how engaged they are with the Parliament.

To measure the success of the work being taken forward to increase the SPCB’s engagement with underrepresented groups, new monitoring arrangements have been implemented for monitoring events in the Parliament; outreach engagement; and committee engagement with groups and organisations that represent people with the following protected characteristics: age; disability; gender; LGBT; race; and religion and belief. As some of this information is still being collected the full set of data cannot be provided for this reporting period. This information will be provided for next year’s report.

Events Engagement

The SPCB implemented its monitoring arrangements for events last year and has been able to provide a breakdown of the different groups and organisations representing people with protected characteristics in the last year.

In the reporting year, there were 398 events in the Parliament which were both sponsored MSP events and SPCB events. 20% of these events involved groups or organisations who represent a protected group. This is 4% higher than in the previous year with a significant increase in the number of disability organisations engaging with the Parliament. The data continues to show that there are still few LGBT groups organising events in the Parliament although this is not to say that they are not engaging with the Parliament as they may be engaging with the Parliament in different ways.

Organisations/ groups representing a protected characteristic / 2013 / 2012
Age / 5% / 3.5%
Disability / 10.3% / 6.3%
Gender / 1.5% / 1.5%
LGBT / 0.2% / 0.6%
Race / 2.3% / 1.5%
Religion and belief / 1% / 1.5%
Total / 20.3% / 14.6%

Outreach Engagement

There have also been other major events in the Parliament which have specifically targeted protected groups. The most prominent is the Parliament DaysProgramme which was introduced by the Presiding Officer in autumn 2012. The programme delivers on the engagement strategy aim to “ensure that the SPCB is carrying out its activities beyond the central belt”. This has been a successful initiative where it has connected the people with the work of the Parliament and has enabled people to better understand the role of the Parliament.

The first two Parliament Days took place in Hawick in November 2012 and in Stornoway in March 2013. Key elements of the engagement work around Parliament Days targeted individuals and groups representing the key audiences of the Public Engagement Strategy, for example there were a number of young people involved in the programme of events and the Presiding Officer and local Members visited local groups in each location including organisations working around homelessness, mental health; young business people; and older people.

For next year’s report more detailed information will be available on the different groups who engaged in Parliament Days. This will enable the SPCB to consider which groups to target further when developing the Parliament Days programme and to ensure that it reaches the groups identified as underrepresented in the Public Engagement Strategy.

Other successful engagement events include International Women’s Day; the Communities Conference; and the Young Persons event at the Festival of Politics: