Race equality: immediate priorities plan

6. The Recommendations of the Expert Reference Group

Background

Recognising the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has had on minority ethnic people in Scotland, a fair and equal recovery from COVID-19 is central to current Scottish Government priorities. Action to tackle racism in Scotland and to improve outcomes for minority ethnic people is central to providing this recovery. As such, the recommendations of the ERG form the core of our immediate priorities on race equality and tackling racism.

In September 2020 the ERG provided the Scottish Government with two sets of recommendations to be taken forward in order to better meet the needs of minority ethnic communities that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. One set of these recommendations relate to systemic, cross-governmental issues, and the second set relate to data acquisition and handling, specifically at the intersection of ethnicity and health. The titles of these recommendations are listed below, and are reproduced in full as part of our reporting in Annex A.

Systemic Issues and Risk

COVID-19 Immediate Action

1. Emergency Sustenance Fund Payment

2. No Recourse to Public Funds

3. Test and Protect and future health measures

4. Fair work practices

5. Investment in Minority Ethnic Organisations and mental health services

6. Public Health Messaging

Short-term actions

7. Accountability - Independent Oversight Commission

8. Functions

9. Anti-Racism Actions

10. Corporate Accountability

11. National Performance Framework

12. A Measure of Racism

13. Housing and Overcrowding

14. Recovery and Remobilisation Plans, Investment Fund and Reporting

15. Employment

Changing the Cultural Landscape

16. Change the Curriculum for Excellence

17. National Museum and Statues

Improving Data and Evidence on Ethnic Inequalities in Health

Improving ethnicity coding through improved data infrastructure

1. Make ethnicity a mandatory field for health databases

2. Linkage to census

3. Develop a CHI field

4. Ethnic Group populations

5. Social care data

6. Flexibility in data collection

Improving ethnicity data collection at source

7. Co-ordinated Action

8. Primary Care Health Ethnicity Data Collection

9. Participation by Minority Ethnic People and Communities

Improving Workforce Data

10. Monitoring workforce data

11. NHS Workforce Data

12. Social Care Workforce Data

Reporting, Accountability and Governance

13. Reporting data by ethnicity

14. Reporting data by ethnicity

The Scottish Government has committed to the full implementation of these recommendations.

The IPP recognises the need to address immediate priorities in starting to tackle institutional and structural racism, and establishes a baseline to build upon. This is why this document aims to capture ongoing race equality work being conducted across the Scottish Government.