Coronavirus (COVID-19) business support: equality impact assessments

Museums and Galleries Scotland Urgent Response Fund

Name of Grant:

Museums and Galleries Scotland Urgent Response COVID-19 Fund

Policy Lead

Jenny Watson

Legal power used:

Section 23 of the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985

Grant Overview:

To support the independent Scottish museums put at risk as a result of the pandemic to meet their operating and critical costs. It was run and operated by Museums Galleries Scotland.

Executive Summary:

The Scottish Government understands the impact COVID-19 has had on culture organisations. Museums and galleries are at the heart of communities right across Scotland, key to national and local identities and deliver social impacts in education, health and wellbeing, and social inclusion, as well as substantial economic impacts. There are over 420 museums in Scotland, 257 of which hold accredited status. The sector ranges from large national institutions employing hundreds of staff to small volunteer-run museums. In 2014 there were 3,522 paid employees in museums and galleries, and 4,667 unpaid volunteers. Scottish museums and galleries were estimated to have an induced impact of £890.88 million^[226]

This emergency funding has supported otherwise strong and viable businesses, protecting the business base, jobs and livelihoods helping prepare for a stronger economic recovery.

In order to address the needs of many sectors adversely impacted by the pandemic, a range of business support funds were introduced over several months to provide emergency funding to help secure jobs, safeguard businesses and to alleviate hardship. Museums and Galleries Scotland Urgent Response COVID-19 Fund is one such fund.

While museum closure during lockdown was essential and absolutely the right approach for health reasons, it comes just at the time of year when many museums would expect to make the majority of their income. This creates an extremely challenging environment for many museums and galleries and their staff are working hard to ensure that museums will survive.

Museums and galleries are now at a crucial point in making decisions about whether they can afford to re-open, the scale of redundancies, cancelling of education and learning programmes, community engagement programmes, exhibitions, training programmes and critical repairs.

The community engagement and learning programmes are crucial in reaching out to people across the range of protected characteristics, many of whom have been disproportionately affected by COVID 19. For example there are programmes run for people with dementia, courses run in British Sign Language, education programmes which have been shown to raise attainment in schools in lower SIMD areas.

Museums and Galleries Scotland Urgent Response COVID-19 Fund, administered by Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) is a new stream of funding that provides much needed support for the sector to help them get through the rest of the financial year.

Within this context of needing to react quickly, there was limited opportunity to gather evidence on the possible impacts of these measures. Nevertheless in developing these funds we spoke to a range of organisations, including Museums Galleries Scotland who are the sector development body, and who in turn reached out to every accredited museum in Scotland. Together this helped us shape the funds in a way which recognises the importance of assessing new and revised policies against the needs of the general equality duty as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. The Scottish Government also considered whether the measures could constitute direct and/or indirect discrimination.

We are also mindful that the equality duty is not just about negating or mitigating negative impacts, we also have a positive duty to promote equality. We have sought to do this through provisions contained in the measures or by support and guidance available. For example we have agreed with Museums Galleries Scotland that for the first time non-accredited museums should also be able to access funding support. Particular attention is given to supporting museums in communities where the closure of a museum would have a heightened impact because of lack of alternative cultural offerings nearby. The funding will enable museums to engage with communities in line with their core purpose, engaging communities with collections and stories, delivering benefits for community wellbeing, learning and opportunities for volunteering.

Key Findings - impact assessment of benefits and/or disadvantages.

Age: Older People and Children and Young People

Museums and galleries (including onsite cafes) can provide a social setting for older people and help tackle social isolation, including many volunteer opportunities. Older people are more likely to live alone, which has potentially significant implications for their wellbeing. Providing this funding means opportunities for volunteering and to meet other people are maintained with may have a positive impact for older people as they may experience increased isolation.

Museums deliver a range of education and learning programmes, which this funding seeks to protect. Many of these programmes show evidence of increased attainment. These learning programmes result in increased learning opportunities for children and may therefore have a positive impact for children and young people.

Sex: Men and Women

The majority of the museums workforce is female^[227]. This funding would result in a greater impact to women in terms of employment.

Before the pandemic, women met socially with friends, relatives, neighbours and colleagues more regularly than men, and this funding will maintain available spaces in a community to socialise^[228]

For men there is little evidence of a differential impact identified at this time. Men may be slightly less affected than women (see above).

Race

This funding can maintain community engagement programmes, including those that reach out to this group, which could have a positive impact on this group, ensuring there is opportunity to attend museums and meet socially with others and engage in learning opportunities.

Disability

This funding can maintain community engagement programmes, including those that reach out to this group, which could have a positive impact on this group, ensuring there is opportunity to attend museums and meet socially with others and engage in learning opportunities.

Religion and Belief

Potentially offering this group the opportunity to pursue employment or social contact, but little evidence of a differential positive impact from other groups.

Sexual Orientation

Potentially offering this group the opportunity to pursue employment or social contact, but little evidence of a differential positive impact from other groups.

Pregnancy and maternity

Potentially offering this group the opportunity to pursue social contact, but little evidence of a differential positive impact from other groups.

Gender reassignment

Potentially offering this group the opportunity to pursue employment or social contact, but little evidence of a differential positive impact from other groups.

Marriage or Civil Partnership

Potentially offering this group the opportunity to pursue employment or social contact, but little evidence of a differential positive impact from other groups.

Socio-economic disadvantage: any people experiencing poverty

In some communities of greater socio-economic disadvantage, museums, particularly ones without entry fees, can provide opportunities for social gathering and enjoyment. This funding may therefore positively affect those living in areas of greater socio-economic disadvantage, by ensuring these opportunities are maintained.

Stakeholder Engagement:

We liaised extensively with MGS and the museums we core fund during the pandemic. MGS themselves reached out to every accredited museum in Scotland to assess the impact the pandemic was having on each organisation. MGS fed back the summary information from this so specific issues were identified and could be addressed.

Mitigations –

No direct actions were taken specifically to mitigate any adverse impacts identified, but the focus of the fund was to ensure organisations remained going concerns. As museums and galleries are at the heart of communities right across Scotland, Museums and galleries are at the heart of communities right across Scotland, key to national and local identities and deliver social impacts in education, health and wellbeing, as well as substantial economic impacts, ensuring they are going concerns and can maintain community engagement programmes will support the work they do around education and social inclusion, which has positive impacts on groups with protected characteristics.

Next Steps (if any)

Declaration and Publication

I have read the Equality Impact Assessment and I am satisfied that it represents a fair and reasonable view of the expected equality impact of the measures implemented.

Signed: Bettina Sizeland

Date: 21 January 2022