Human Rights Bill for Scotland: discussion paper

3. Implementation & Next Steps

3.1 Implementation of a Future Framework

The 2025/26 Programme for Government set out our ongoing commitment to developing legislation to incorporate certain international treaties into Scots law and continued engagement with stakeholders to refine proposals. It also indicated that we would deliver human rights capability building work to strengthen the implementation of rights across the public sector and lay the groundwork for future legislation. This section outlines key areas of this implementation activity, some of which was identified in the 2023 consultation and informed by the former IWG.

Our Mainstreaming Strategy and the six drivers of change set out in the recent consultation on this serve as the overarching organising structure for human rights implementation. Priority activities in the period ahead will seek to lay the groundwork for future legislation so that public authorities are well placed to implement it as and when it becomes law, drawing on learning from the implementation of previous incorporations exercises – notably the UNCRC Act 2024. It includes actions in SNAP2, and in particular those relating to capability building identified as part of a prioritised list by the Plan’s Leadership Panel.

3.1.1 Capability Building

Increasing awareness of human rights, human rights law and human rights based approaches across prospective duty-bearers will be essential to ensure effective implementation. This was something consistently noted by respondents to the consultation, is a SNAP2 action and aligns with our commitment to further embed equality and human rights across public services – including through reform of the operation of the PSED in Scotland.

Over the next year, we will focus on building the human rights capability of the public sector, initially starting with local authorities and health boards and building on existing work undertaken by the Improvement Service and NHS Education for Scotland in relation to the UNCRC Act 2024. This will include targeted action to raise awareness and identify gaps in understanding of the rights we intend to incorporate through a future Bill. This will draw directly from the text of the international treaties and guidance. We anticipate that the interdependencies that these bodies have with other sectors and organisations delivering public functions will provide valuable insights on wider capability building needs that can support further targeted work in future.

This work is being informed by stakeholders through the recently established Capability Building Working Group. It directly contributes to the draft Mainstreaming Strategy driver on ‘enhancing capability and culture’ and will be aligned with the mainstreaming toolkit when this has been developed. In addition, the Scottish Government recently established an internal Equality and Human Rights Development Academy and we are considering further cross-government capability building opportunities linked to this.

3.1.2 Information and Awareness Raising

Making available, accessible information on the rights in the Bill, and human rights more generally, is vital in order to allow rights-holders to claim them. Working with stakeholders, we will develop plans for information and awareness raising, including a campaign that is aligned with future timescales for implementation. Over this financial year, we will engage with organisations funded through the Equality and Human Rights Fund to facilitate knowledge exchange on the rights proposed for incorporation, preparing the ground for future duties.

3.1.3 Advocacy, Advice and Signposting

Strengthening the approach to advocacy, advice and signposting are key components to help resolve issues as quickly as possible and avoid, as far as possible, people having to go to court. Advocacy, advice and signposting play a key part in making rights real for people and to embed a human rights-based approach in public authorities and those who hold them to account. We will further explore what advocacy, advice and signposting in relation to the Bill may look like as we get closer to the time of introduction, including by building on the comments of the Lived Experience Board and the IWG.

3.1.4 Monitoring and reporting

Monitoring and reporting are key to assessing both how previous action has been impactful and informing future plans. Our developing approach to this is reflected elsewhere in this document, particularly in relation to the proposed Planning and Reporting Duty for certain public authorities, the reporting requirements for oversight bodies and the Human Rights Scheme, as well as the duty on the SHRC to review Planning and Reporting Duty reports by listed authorities.

We will continue to engage with international monitoring and reporting requirements, including the UN reporting mechanisms. We are also considering the development of a tool that provides a repository of recommendations from international treaty bodies and tracks their implementation in Scotland. Drawing on expert opinion, we have convened a working group to identify project design priorities and guide the development of a tool that is appropriate for Scotland’s human rights landscape. The timescales for this work will need to reflect the group’s views on form and function, though we anticipate any tool will require phased development with a view to an initial product launching by March 2026.

3.1.5 Other areas

Immediately following commencement, we recognise that some initial support will be needed to enable the courts to effectively adjudicate on the rights given they are being put into domestic law for the first time. We will engage with the Judicial Institute for Scotland on this point.

For statements of compliance, we will put in place robust processes to support the making of the statement of compliance, and it is our intention to publish relevant evidence that demonstrates how new legislation is – on introduction – consistent with the Human Rights Bill’s Compliance Duty. This will in turn support the Parliament’s own human rights-related scrutiny of legislation that comes before it.

3.2 Next Steps Towards a Bill

We plan to use this document to facilitate further engagement, in advance of a potential future Bill.

Meantime, we are taking forward priority actions to help advance the development of the Bill and early implementation activities in the remainder of the current session. The main areas relating to the Bill proposals include work to:

• Explore the potential to restore the widespread understanding of Section 28(7) of the Scotland Act 1998 through collaboration with stakeholders and other UK administrations (following on from the workshop “Devolved law-making after the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill Reference” independently hosted by the University of Glasgow Centre for Public Policy) and consider alternative options for addressing scope issues if we are unable to make progress.
• Further develop our understanding of how the Bill duties will work in practice.
• Further develop and test options for how the GPTs can be reflected in the Bill, including the attached duty.
• Further develop and test proposals for the right to a healthy environment.
• Further develop thinking on minimum standards and what a participatory process might look like.
• Further develop and test proposals relating to judicial remedy, particularly how the Bill deals with legislative incompatibilities and proceedings for breach of ICESCR requirements.
• Further develop and test proposals for changing the powers of the SHRC and the CYPCS.

The ‘further considerations’ sections throughout Part 2 sets out additional policy development work that is planned for the upcoming period. We will also continue to develop impact assessments to accompany the Bill upon introduction.

We have established the following engagement structures to support policy development and wider implementation work:

• A Human Rights Incorporation & Implementation Oversight Board, chaired by the Minister for Equalities.
• Bespoke working groups on capability building and tracker tool development, with the potential for other working groups to be formed to drive forward priority activity.
• A wider Human Rights Stakeholder Network, to keep a wide range of interests updated on our rights incorporation and implementation work.

We plan to undertake targeted and in-depth stakeholder engagement in the coming period on the priority areas listed above, which could include the establishment of short, medium and longer term working groups to focus on specific issues. We also intend to undertake engagement with those who have been less involved to date, including relevant private actors, business and industry.