Equality and human rights mainstreaming: Fairer Scotland Duty summary

Annex A: Fairer Scotland Duty – Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Action Plan

Summary of aims and expected outcomes of strategy, proposal, programme or policy

The Mainstreaming Action Plan sets out measurable actions that the Scottish Government are taking to embed and mainstream equality and human rights across its systems and processes.

The Plan focuses on Scottish Government-led actions and will be updated annually. It aims to remove systemic barriers, improve service delivery and ensure that equality and human rights considerations are central to decision-making and governance.

The Mainstreaming Action Plan is intended to strengthen the Scottish Government’s approach to embedding equality and human rights across its operations. Many of the actions outlined in the Plan are expected to influence the systems and services that those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage interact with, particularly in areas such as education, health, and social care.

The Plan aims to improve accessibility and transparency by inclusive communications and data improvements through a proposed governance framework.

Summary of evidence

Evidence indicates that socio-economic disadvantage intersects with other forms of inequality, creating barriers to accessing and engaging with government policy. People living in poverty/low income households can face digital exclusion, limiting their ability to access online-only resources. This is particularly relevant for older people, disabled individuals, and those with lower literacy levels. Minority ethnic communities may also experience language barriers, which can further compound exclusion. These inequalities affect how individuals interact with public services and influence their ability to participate in decision-making processes.

The Mainstreaming Action Plan is designed to reduce these identified inequalities by improving accessibility and embedding inclusive practices across Government. By publishing the Plan in multiple formats—including HTML, Easy Read, BSL, and print—it aims to ensure that people from disadvantaged backgrounds can access and understand its content. The Plan also commits to using plain English and offering translations, which will help address language and literacy barriers.

There are gaps in intersectional data, particularly regarding how overlapping identities—such as being from a lower socio-economic group, disabled and from a minority ethnic background—affect access and outcomes. Additionally, there is limited lived experience evidence across some protected groups, which restricts our ability to fully understand the real-world impacts of mainstreaming efforts. Specific actions within the Mainstreaming Action Plan are designed to improve the collection and use of equality and intersectional data, including enhancements to the Equality Evidence Strategy and the development of tools such as the Equality Evidence Finder.

For the individual actions included with the Action Plan, we expect policy areas to be identifying gaps, researching evidence and undertaking engagement with regard to socio-economic disadvantage.

Summary of assessment findings

To strengthen the impact of the Mainstreaming Action Plan on reducing socio-economic inequality, several key options have been identified:

• The inclusion of a specific action within the Action Plan to establish a governance framework to monitor accessibility, participation, and equality outcomes across all actions. This framework should ensure that mainstreaming of equality and human rights, including specifically socio-economic inequality is consistently applied across Government and that progress is reported transparently.
• Improving the collection and use of intersectional data will allow for a more nuanced understanding of how different groups experience socio-economic inequality, particularly those facing overlapping disadvantages.

The Action Plan will be published in multiple accessible formats, including HTML, Easy Read, BSL, and printed copies, with translations available on request. These changes are being made to ensure that people experiencing socio-economic disadvantage—particularly those facing digital exclusion, language barriers, or lower literacy—can access and engage with the Plan. Additionally, the development and publication of a governance framework by Summer 2026 will help monitor accessibility, participation, and equality outcomes. These changes are expected to improve transparency, accountability, and inclusivity across government systems.