Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) Improvement: Stakeholder Reference Group minutes - August 2026

Attendees and apologies

Present

• Nick Bland, Deputy Director for Mainstreaming and Inclusion, Scottish Government (Chair)
• Lucy Pearson, City of Edinburgh Council
• Pamela Roccio, The Scottish Councils Equality Network (SCEN) and West Lothian Council
• Jillian Mathew, Audit Scotland
• Eilidh Fulton, Scottish Funding Council
• Caroline Hutchinson, EDI Scotland Colleges Network
• Coralie Colburn, NHSS Equality and Diversity Leads Network - Special Boards and Scottish Ambulance Service 
• Nina Calder, Police Scotland (attending as a deputy for Eithne Graham)
• Louise Giblin, Non-Departmental Public Bodies Forum (NDPB) Equalities Forum and Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
• Rebecca Richard, Inclusion Scotland
• Carol Young, Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER)
• Erin Lux, Equality Network
• Simita Kumar MSP, Minister for Equalities and International Development [attended for the ministerial introduction item]

Secretariat

• Scottish Government (SG) officials 

Observers

• Equality and Human Rights Commission officials

Apologies

• Simon Cameron, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Catherine Whitaker, COSLA
• Emma Chattington, Orkney Island Council
• Caroline McKellar, Society of Personnel and Development Scotland (SPDS) and City of Edinburgh Council
• Catherine Canning, Scottish Funding Council
• Louise Baggott, EDI Scotland Colleges Network
• Laura Hutchinson, NHSS Equality and Diversity Leads Network - Territorial Boards and NHS Lothian
• Hina Sheikh, NHSS Equality and Diversity Leads Network - Territorial Boards and NHS Lanarkshire 
• Rosie Tyler-Greig, NHSS Equality and Diversity Leads Network - Special Boards and NHS Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• Lindsey Millen, Close the Gap
• Jill Wood, Engender

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions 

The Chair welcomed members and noted apologies.

Presentation: amendment Regulation discussion paper analysis

SG officials presented findings from stakeholder engagement on proposed amendments to the Scottish Specific Duties, including extending pay gap reporting to ethnicity and disability.

A discussion paper was shared with listed authority and equality organisation stakeholders. The paper received 75 responses and found strong support for the proposed regulations. Respondents welcomed greater consistency and transparency but highlighted a number of implementation considerations. Many respondents emphasised the need for clear guidance and proportionate reporting requirements. SG officials will share the results of the engagement more widely in the coming weeks.

Members discussed where lessons could be learned from other data collection and analysis programmes in the public sector. Members and SG officials agreed that it would be helpful to run a feedback session with public bodies on the data received through the engagement exercise.

Introduction from the Minister for Equalities and International Development

The Minister for Equalities and International Development, Simita Kumar MSP, joined the meeting and outlined her commitment to strengthening collective leadership on equality issues across government and the wider public sector. The Minister highlighted the PSED as a crucial mechanism for driving change and underlined her commitment to continue to improve its effectiveness within the public sector. The Minister then invited members share their views.

Members welcomed the opportunity for discussion and extended invitations to the Minister and SG officials to attend future meetings of equality networks. The Minister thanked members for their continued constructive engagement with PSED improvement. The Minister left the meeting after this item.

Progress update on Regulation 12 proposals

SG officials presented a progress update provided on delivery of Regulation 12 proposals covering phase 1 (December 2025 to May 2026) and phase 2 (May 2026 to December 2026), as outlined in the roadmap. All activity was shown as on track. No concerns were raised by members but there was a request for high level slides or summaries which could be shared more widely with public and third sector networks. The Secretariat agreed to consider this request. 

Any other business

SG officials provided an update on early work to establish a PSED Community of Practice for Scottish listed authorities. Engagement with selected stakeholders will inform further development.

Members considered a proposed amendment to the group's Terms of Reference to appoint the Unit Head for Mainstreaming Delivery as Deputy Chair. No objections were raised and the proposal was agreed.

The Chair summarised key points and advised that the next meeting is expected to take place in late November 2026.

Action points

• SG officials to share a summary of the discussion paper analysis with members
• Minister and SG officials to consider attendance at future public sector equality network meetings
• secretariat to consider producing shareable summaries for equality networks
• secretariat to update the Terms of Reference to include the Unit Head for Mainstreaming Delivery as Deputy Chair
• secretariat to circulate draft minutes and publish them on the group webpage
• secretariat to issue invitations for the next meeting by 8 September 2026