Equality and human rights mainstreaming action plan
Brings together 61 equality and human rights mainstreaming actions from across the Scottish Government in one accessible plan, supporting equality, diversity and inclusion in policy and practice.
Actions: Ensuring effective regulatory and policy environment
Action 14:
We will develop legislation to incorporate certain international human rights treaties into Scots law, working with stakeholders to refine proposals, and laying the groundwork for effective implementation. The aim is to introduce a Bill in the next Parliamentary session, subject to the outcome of the Scottish Parliamentary elections.
Source: Programme for Government 2025-26
Action 15:
As part of our PSED improvement programme, we will extend the current gender pay gap duty under Regulation 7 of the Equality Act (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 to include reporting on ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
Draft amendment regulations to be laid in Parliament in 2026.
Source: Programme for Government 2025-26
Action 16:
In 2026, we will conduct a scoping exercise to determine how we can best use our regulatory powers to introduce a duty on listed authorities to develop and publish Pay Gap Action Plans. Further information on the action we will take forward on this duty and support for implementation is set out in the Regulation 12 Report published alongside this document. By 2027 we will report on the progress in delivering the Regulation 12 proposals.
Source: PSED Regulation 12 Report
Action 17:
As part of our Equally Safe commitments, by the end of 2026 we will create a policy definition of honour-based abuse and extended family abuse and create guidance to enable service providers to better support survivors.
Source: Equally Safe
Action 18:
In early 2026, we will establish a procurement process to facilitate the commissioning of high-quality participatory work within the Scottish Government.
Source: Equality Outcome 2 - Lived Experience & Participation
Action 19:
Recognising that many carers have intersecting characteristics (many are female, disabled, and low income), we will apply an intersectional lens to the development and implementation of the right to breaks from caring, part of the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025. A public consultation will be published in Spring 2026.
Source: Programme for Government 2024-25 and National Carers Strategy
Action 20:
We will introduce regulations in this parliamentary session that extend voting rights on Integration Joint Boards to lived experience Board members (people accessing support and services in their local area and unpaid carers). This will form part of a package of support that aims to improve lived experience participation in social care decision making. We will take a human rights-based approach to the development and implementation of this work.
Source: Independent Review of Adult Social Care
Action 21:
In 2026, we will carry out a PANEL Human Rights based approach to assessing the live Pandemic ScotOps, the decision-making framework for structures that would be activated during a public health emergency. This assessment remains a work in progress and will be informed by the UK-wide pandemic exercise that took place in Autumn 2025.
Proposals under consideration include a dedicated support and challenge role in the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGORR) process and inclusion of practical checkpoints for equality and human rights considerations as part of the 4 Harms process.
Source: Cross-government future pandemic preparedness programme of work
Action 22:
In 2026, we will coordinate a PANEL-based human rights assessment of Public Health and Social Measures (PHSMs), the non-pharmaceutical interventions that would inform and be implemented through decision-making processes outlined in Pandemic ScotOps, including adoption of 4 Harms.
We will develop overarching, high-level, cross-government impact assessments on known Public Health and Social Measures and Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions that could be deployed in response to a pandemic. These will focus on baseline impacts on each protected characteristic group as well as cumulative impact. These impact assessments would be reviewed and updated specifically to the pandemic scenario, with the latest evidence and data.
Source: Cross-government future pandemic preparedness programme of work