Anti-racism delivery plan 2026-2030

3 Introduction & Context: Foundations for Change

In 2016 the Scottish Government published the Race Equality Framework (REF) 2016-2030, setting out a long-term vision for a fairer Scotland. To drive progress towards this vision, two race equality action plans followed: the Race Equality Action Plan (2017-2021) and the Immediate Priorities Plan (IPP) (2021-2023). This was supported by over £12.3 million of investment for third sector organisations to tackle discrimination and improve outcomes for adversely racialised communities across Scotland.

Section 4 of this document summarises the considerable progress that has been made under the REF’s six themes. Key among these are:

• Delivery of the Anti-Racist Employment Strategy.
• Delivery of the Anti-Racism in Education Programme.
• Strengthened equity in health and social care through targeted investment, governance, workforce initiatives, and the establishment of the Racialised Health Inequalities Steering Group.
• Strengthening the Equality Evidence Base.
• Legislative progress on Hate Crime and police reform.

Alongside programme delivery and targeted anti-racism work across key sectors, the Scottish Government has acknowledged the reality of systemic racism. There is a substantial and well-established evidence base demonstrating the existence of systemic racism in Scotland. Recent publications, such as CRER’s State of the Nation Volume 1 (2025), bring together extensive Scotland-specific data highlighting significant racial inequalities across employment, housing, mental health, criminal justice, and community cohesion. This provides clear evidence of sustained, structural patterns rather than isolated incidents.

Further research, such as the Evidence for Equality National Survey document widespread experiences of racial insult, unfair treatment in education, employment, and policing, and significantly higher levels of worry about racist harassment among adversely racialised communities in Scotland compared with England and Wales. For example, in 2024-25 Police Scotland recorded 8,538 hate crimes, and over three-fifths (62%) included a race aggravator. These findings reinforce that systemic racism remains a reality affecting outcomes and lived experience across multiple domains of life in Scotland.

As a result, the government is funding the establishment of the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland and targeted anti-racism work across key sectors.

Following the conclusion of the IPP and the publication of the Anti-Racism in Scotland Progress Review 2023, the Scottish Government gathered evidence and learning from stakeholders, the Interim Governance Group on Anti-Racism Infrastructure, and the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Engagement events with communities, supported by Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland (BEMIS), the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations Scotland (CEMVO), and the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER), took place between December 2024 and March 2025, alongside visits to funded organisations in the autumn of 2025.

This period, in-between the conclusion of the Immediate Priorities Plan and now, has enabled the Scottish Government to take the time needed to reflect carefully on learning from previous action plans, consider the findings of the Progress Review, and work closely with partners. We recognise that this has meant a gap in plans to take forward delivery of the Race Equality Framework, and this period has allowed us to respond meaningfully by focusing on evidence, alignment, and the breadth of feedback received.

The Progress Review and subsequent learning and engagement highlighted priorities for future work, including:

• Improved accountability and leadership visibility.
• Robust data and metrics.
• Policy coherence and delivery alignment.
• Lived experience and community partnerships.
• Transparency and communication.
• Monitoring and reporting mechanisms.
• Sustained engagement with strategic partners.
• Alignment with international obligations.
• Community cohesion and tackling systemic barriers.

This Delivery Plan is designed to ensure that work across government is better joined up and easier to follow by ensuring that policy areas work and learn together to make progress and be accountable for it. We will do this by putting in place the structures and support needed to ensure that work across government is aligned, collaborative, and guided by a clear and consistent approach to delivery. The Strategic Team for Anti-Racism at the Scottish Government will lead on this work.

To provide a clear direction and purpose, this Government is committed to achieving this vision:

A Scotland that tackles racism head-on and is committed to ending it - upholding equity, justice, dignity, and respect for all communities. System change will be led by government, shaped with communities, and driven through policy and practice across public bodies and wider society so that everyone can flourish and participate fully in life in Scotland.

This vision recognises the scale of the challenge ahead and the need for system-wide change, informed by robust evidence and the lived experience of adversely racialised communities.

We use the term “anti‑racism” deliberately. Our focus is on racism itself, in its systemic, structural, and institutional form, and on the work required to identify, challenge, and dismantle the policies, practices and conditions that create and sustain racial inequality. Using “anti‑racism” keeps the emphasis on the problem we are seeking to eliminate and on the need for a proactive, sustained effort to remove racial injustice at its roots.

We recognise that across government and the wider public sector, some programmes, strategies, and policy areas use the term “anti‑racist” instead. Both terms describe efforts aligned with a shared aim: to advance “racial equality” and address the impacts of discrimination. Where “anti‑racist” is used, it typically refers to actions, behaviours, or organisational practices intended to challenge racism. This Plan’s choice to use “anti‑racism” reflects its purpose: to foreground the systemic issue and to set out a framework for eliminating racism across structures, systems, and institutions, while still fully acknowledging and aligning with anti‑racist work taking place across sectors.

While this Plan focuses on dismantling systemic and structural racism, we remain committed to reducing and preventing racist behaviours. This includes hate crime, racist incidents, discriminatory practices, and prejudice in communities, schools, workplaces, and services. Race and religion remain distinct areas of policy; however, recent events have underscored how forms of hatred such as Islamophobia and antisemitism are often shaped by both racialised and religious factors. Through partnerships such as those with Interfaith Scotland, we continue to promote dialogue, tackle prejudice, and strengthen community cohesion. Our work within Education to tackle racist incidents and build racial literacy, alongside our steadfast support for refugees and people seeking asylum, reflects this comprehensive approach. Across justice, education, community cohesion, policy, and equality mainstreaming, the commitments within this plan collectively contribute to preventing racism and strengthening operational and behavioural responses that are robust, evidence-informed, and aligned with community priorities. No one should be targeted for who they are, and it is critical everyone can live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, and safe.

Other terms are also widely used by different sectors and policy areas, reflecting distinct legislative requirements, data standards, organisational contexts, and stakeholder preferences. While we aim for clarity and consistency, we also recognise that terms used in specific policy areas or partner sectors may differ for valid reasons. Where these terms appear within this document, they reflect the conventions and evidence frameworks used in those areas. We will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure terminology remains clear, respectful, and aligned with best practice.

We have heard clearly that consultation fatigue is real. Communities want practical action and accountability - not more consultation without change. This Plan responds by prioritising delivery and stronger governance.

This Delivery Plan reflects what we heard communities tell us they want: practical action and accountability, not lengthy documents or further consultation. At the same time, meaningful anti-racism work cannot be static. Commitments set out here will evolve and change over time, informed by feedback through direct accountability, continuing community engagement, and new or further improved evidence. This adaptive approach ensures anti-racism remains a dynamic, systemic practice rather than a fixed set of actions, enabling continuous learning, improvement, and responsiveness across government and public services.

Five strategic priorities underpin this Delivery Plan, as outlined in Section 5. They provide the framework for embedding anti-racism across government and guiding delivery over the next four years:

• Deliver in partnership.
• Coordinate and build capacity.
• Measure and evaluate.
• Be accountable on the international stage.
• Work with Gypsy/Traveller communities.

These priorities signal where leadership and focus will be dedicated to drive systemic change, rather than prescribing detailed actions.

To support these priorities and strengthen Scotland’s long-term anti-racism infrastructure, the Scottish Government has established the Anti‑Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS).

AROS will play a vital role in supporting the delivery of genuine, irreversible systemic change. As a national centre of excellence, AROS will strengthen the development and implementation of policy across all areas of government and among key stakeholders through an intersectional, anti‑racism lens.

AROS has been designed to:

• bring together quantitative and qualitative data on racial and ethnic inequalities in Scotland;
• maintain an accessible repository that hosts historical and current evidence from a wide range of sources to support awareness, learning, and informed action; and
• work collaboratively with partners and be led by those most impacted by racialisation.

By providing high-quality insight and constructive, evidence-led challenge, AROS will help improve coherence, inform better policy choices, and strengthen accountability across the system. It will sit alongside broader governance, accountability, and delivery arrangements set out in this Plan. These mechanisms, taken together, are intended to reduce fragmentation, strengthen alignment, and ensure anti-racism is embedded across the whole of government rather than concentrated in any single initiative.

To maintain momentum, Section 6 brings together high-level strategic commitments from across policy areas. These commitments are designed to integrate anti-racism into the core of government work and prevent it from being treated as a standalone initiative through centralising reporting, accountability, and governance. This structure will be designed to improve coherence, reduce duplication, and ensure anti-racism is sustained across government over time.

Gypsy/Traveller communities are an integral part of this work. Following the conclusion of Scotland’s previous two Gypsy/Traveller Action Plans, continuing commitments to action to tackle systemic inequality and exclusion are embedded into the wider anti-racism approach to strengthen coherence and impact. Evidence shows that Gypsy/Travellers remain among the groups most likely to experience significant social, educational, and labour market exclusion, as well as poorer health outcomes and higher levels of poverty.

Recent evidence continues to demonstrate that inequalities experienced by Gypsy/Traveller communities are not isolated or incidental but reflect longstanding barriers. Research by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Human Rights Commission highlight the historic and ongoing discrimination faced by Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland, including the legacy of policies that enforced substandard living conditions or disrupted family life. This is consistent with the broader evidence base on systemic and structural inequalities referenced earlier in this document. For example, the Scottish Government’s Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland: An Analysis of Scotland’s Census 2022 found that 43.8% of Gypsy/Travellers reported having no qualifications, compared with 16.6% of the general Scottish population. Similarly, the Equality and Human Right Commission’s Is Scotland Fairer? Report identified lower attainment, higher exclusion rates, and poorer health access and outcomes for Gypsy/Travellers.

Recognising this, our approach embeds action on Gypsy/Traveller inequality as a core part of Scotland’s wider structural anti-racism agenda. This commitment will be delivered in partnership with COSLA, enabling us to address barriers effectively and continue to build trust with Gypsy/Traveller communities.

This Delivery Plan builds on progress to date and responds to what communities have told us matters most. It sets out practical steps to embed anti-racism across government, while continuing to advance the REF. In doing so, it reflects the vision at the heart of this plan: a Scotland that tackles racism head-on and works to end it - upholding equity, justice, dignity, and respect for all communities. These commitments are designed to turn that vision into action, so that everyone can flourish and participate fully in life in Scotland.