Fairer Scotland action plan: progress report 2020

Introduction

The Scottish Government made a commitment to provide the Scottish Parliament with an annual report on progress made in relation to the Fairer Scotland Action Plan^[2] (FSAP) published in 2016. This report follows similar reports published in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

FSAP is built on five high-level ambitions that we will continue to focus on in the period to 2030: a fairer Scotland for all; ending child poverty; a strong start for all young people; fairer working lives; and a thriving third age. It contains 50 actions that we will take across this parliamentary term with a call to everyone to create a fairer, more equal society. The action plan supports the vision for a fair, smart, inclusive Scotland, where everyone can feel at home. It also sets out our ambition for a country where poverty rates are amongst the lowest in Europe, and where there is genuine equality of opportunity for all by 2030.

Similar to the 2019 FSAP Progress Report, this progress report also provides an update on the actions taken in relation to two reports published by the then Independent Poverty and Inequality Advisor, Naomi Eisenstadt. Shifting the Curve^[3] (StC), published in 2016, details 15 recommendations for the Scottish Government and others to help shift the curve on poverty and reduce poverty levels in Scotland significantly.

One recommendation from this report was to review the life chances of young people in Scotland. A review carried out by Scottish Government analysts, published in July 2017^[4], formed the basis of Naomi Eisenstadt's second report. The Life Chances of Young People in Scotland^[5] (Life Chances) was published in 2017 and offers 18 further recommendations on how to best support young people aged 16-24, regardless of their background. These recommendations are focused on ensuring young people have the best start in adult life and helping to create the conditions that provides them with the best chances of success. This progress report provides the first update on progress made against the Life Chances report recommendations.

Rather than publishing three separate updates, we have produced this single short thematic progress report. The themes in this report are:

• Employment, including youth employment
• Education and childcare
• Housing
• Social security and benefit up-take
• Social policy
• Equality
• Health, including mental health

Each theme has its own section which begins with a brief strategic overview that sets out the Scottish Government's aims and ambitions in this area. This is followed by the relevant recommendations/actions from the three reports.

There are some actions and recommendations which do not fit into any of the themes listed above. A separate update is provided on these towards the end of the progress report under 'Other actions'.

We are mindful that a number of the recommendations and actions contained in the three reports also feature in our Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan. Where this is the case and the update provided in the second Tackling Child Poverty Progress Report (TCPPR), published on 20 August 2020, remains the most up to date position, we have taken the decision not to include a further update in this report, particularly given the short time lapse between both reports. Readers are instead signposted to the TCPPR.

We have also provided a table which sets out our progress at a glance, offering a quick overview of the current status of the actions or recommendations across all three reports. The actions and recommendations were short, medium and longer term up to 2030 and therefore we have used the following key:

Where a recommendation or action was marked as 'completed' in the 2019 previous progress report, that recommendation or action will only feature in the at a glance table on pages 32 to 37.