Human Rights Bill for Scotland: discussion paper

Annex A - Overview of Consultation & Engagement Work

Proposals for the Bill have been informed by extensive engagement over a number of years with a range of rights-holders, duty-bearers, civil society representatives and other stakeholders. Following the publication of the FMAG and Taskforce recommendations, further engagement has been undertaken in the intervening period to refine proposals and is summarised below.

Public Consultation

The public consultation ran from June to October 2023. 397 responses were received in total, with 133 submitted by individuals and 264 representing organisations including public, private and civil society. The Scottish Government ran seven in-person and digital consultation events with over 150 individuals in attendance throughout the consultation period.

An independent analysis of the consultation responses was carried out by Alma Economics and published in January 2024. Overall, the analysis demonstrated strong support to bring more internationally recognised human rights into Scotland’s domestic legal framework. In general, there was support for the proposals, but there was a strong desire from some parts of civil society for the Bill to go further, particularly in areas such as the duties placed on the GPTs. There was also a desire for more detail and clarity on the proposals, particularly in relation to access to justice measures. From duty-bearers in particular, there was a call for clear guidance, additional resources and capacity building support to ensure they are able to fulfil the duties effectively.

Engagement Forums

Several engagement forums have been established over recent years to support Bill development, with membership of these forums comprising a wide range of interests. A full list of the membership of these forums can be found in the web links in the associated footnotes.

Human Rights Bill Advisory Board

The Bill Advisory Board^[55] ran from 2021-24 and was chaired at Ministerial level. Membership comprised a range of civil society organisations focused on human rights and equality. The Board functioned as a sounding board and advice-giving group for the Scottish Government. It built on the work of the Taskforce and included several of the same members, including Professor Alan Miller who previously co-Chaired the Taskforce.

Human Rights Bill Executive Board

The Human Rights Bill Executive Board^[56] (latterly the Equality and Human Rights Public Sector Leadership Board) ran from 2021-24 and was chaired by the Scottish Government’s Director General for Communities. It was comprised of senior decision makers across the public sector in Scotland, including organisations such as COSLA, Police Scotland and the NHS. The Board’s original role was to consider the strategic resource implications and actions required across the public sector to support effective development and implementation of the Bill. Over the course of the Executive Board’s discussions, members recognised that effective implementation of the Bill, once passed, would require co-ordination and alignment with several parallel workstreams centred around the delivery of human rights and equalities obligations and duties. This recognition was formalised in governance in early 2024, when the Executive Board was refreshed as the Public Body Leadership Board, with a broader remit and wider membership that recognises the need to align the Human Rights Bill with other key workstreams including the ongoing review of Public Sector Equality Duties, and work to embed the Scottish Government’s mainstreaming strategy.

Human Rights Bill Implementation Working Group

The Implementation Working Group^[57] ran from 2023-2024. The Working Group’s purpose was to explore approaches and requirements for the effective implementation of the Human Rights Bill.

The group had two tiers: a core working group and a wider engagement group. The core working group composed of Scottish Government officials, academics, third sector and civil society organisations, and representatives from key public bodies. Discussions were reflected to the wider engagement group, who were invited to provide feedback at regular update meetings. Both groups also received information regarding the views of the Lived Experience Boards on the relevant topics to inform the implementation groups’ discussions. The groups provided advice on how proposals for effective Bill implementation could be embedded within the organisational cultures of Scotland’s public authorities and those delivering public functions.

Human Rights Bill Lived Experience Board

The Taskforce recommended that the Scottish Government should adopt an innovative and human-rights based approach towards engaging the public in developing the framework. The Human Rights Bill Lived Experience Board^[58] was established to give effect to this recommendation. Our approach was informed by the Taskforce’s views as well as the Scottish Government’s Participation Framework,^[59] and the PANEL principles developed by the Scottish Human Rights Commission.^[60] The Lived Experience Board was intended to help ensure that, as far as possible, the views of people with lived experiences of facing challenges accessing their rights had parity with these other key stakeholder groups and public participation had an important role at the heart of the process to develop the Bill.

The Board comprised of three separate groups of public participants, each supported by a civil society group, respectively the Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS), Together Alliance for Children’s Rights and the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD). HRCS supported a group of adults from a range of different backgrounds including people with experience of barriers to their human rights through race and religious beliefs, gender, disability, and other issues. SCLD supported a group of adults with learning disabilities from different backgrounds. Together supported a group of children and young people from around Scotland. The groups ran from 2022-24 and published thirteen detailed reports offering input on a number of different elements of the Bill.

Human Rights Incorporation & Implementation Oversight Board

The Human Rights Incorporation & Implementation Oversight Board^[61] was established in early 2025 and is expected to run until March 2026. It is chaired by the Minister for Equalities and membership comprises of representatives from across the public sector, civil society and academia. The Board’s role is to provide oversight of, and advice in relation to, the activities the Scottish Government is undertaking to advance development of the proposed Human Rights Bill and to take forward early implementation activity.

Capability Building Working Group

The Capability Building Working Group^[62] was established in early 2025 and is expected to operate over a similar timeframe to the Oversight Board. It will provide the Oversight Board with periodic reports of its activities. The purpose of the Working Group is to inform and review the delivery of human rights capability building activities undertaken by the Scottish Government and other partners, supporting and promoting collaboration and ongoing knowledge exchange. The Working Group provides views on good practice activities that support the public sector and others to improve awareness, understanding and practice to advance human rights now, laying the groundwork for the implementation of future duties.