Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) Improvement: Stakeholder Reference Group - terms of reference

These Terms of Reference (ToR) serve to provide structure and clarity regarding the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) Improvement Stakeholder Reference Group's (the SRG) context, purpose, objectives, operations, and expectations for its second stage in the period between January 2026 and December 2029. The ToR is intended to facilitate productive collaboration while ensuring all members have a shared understanding of the group's remit and ways of working. The Scottish Government reserves the right to amend these ToR in consultation with members during the group’s life cycle, as necessary.

Context

The PSED is a duty on public bodies, and those carrying out public functions, which was created by section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) and came into force in April 2011. It requires public authorities to have ‘due regard’ to the three needs to advance equality, eliminate discrimination, and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

As the Act - and by extension the PSED - is reserved to the UK Parliament, with neither the Scottish Parliament nor Scottish Ministers having the legal powers necessary to change the equality duty in and of itself. This means we cannot, for example, amend the three needs, alter the ‘due regard’ nature of the duty or add new protected characteristics beyond those already included in the Act. However, Scottish Ministers have used limited devolved powers available to them under the Act to enable better performance of the PSED in Scotland. This is in the form of placing detailed requirements on Scottish listed authorities through the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012, known as the Scottish Specific Duties (SSDs).

The Scottish Government has committed to a phased approach to improving the operation of the PSED in Scotland. This includes using the full range of powers to reform the SSDs, within the limits of devolved competence. However, this approach also recognises that legislative change alone will not deliver the change needed. We will also seek to drive forward and progress non-regulatory reform such as through capacity building through the use of shared tools and resources to support better performance of the PSED in Scotland.

In July 2025, the Scottish Government established the SRG as a forum for listed authorities, their equality networks and equality advocacy groups from across Scotland. In stage 1 the group’s initial focus was to work with Scottish Government officials to shape and inform the development of published proposals, covering a four year period, to enable better performance of the PSED in Scotland by December 2025. This was in line with supporting Scottish Ministers to comply with their statutory duty under Regulation 12 (1) of the SSDs.

On 8 December 2025, the Scottish Government published our Regulation 12 Report 2025/29 which sets out our proposals for activity to enable better performance of the PSED between December 2025 to December 2029. The proposals focus on five priorities to:

• consider scope for introducing pay gap action plans
• strengthen stakeholder engagement
• improve understanding of fostering good relations
• build leadership and capacity
• reinforce accountability at senior levels

The report also sets out how the Scottish Government will continue to work constructively with the SRG to enhance transparency and accountability as well as supporting delivery of improvement activity - outlined under each proposals in the report - within the four year period. This included working with the SRG to formulate a ‘Roadmap for Delivery’ which recognises the complexity of the proposals, their multi-year nature and the reach of activity across the wider Scottish public sector. We will also look to incorporate both the roadmap and the SRG into the wider governance framework as set out in the Mainstreaming Action Plan.

Purpose

The purpose of the SRG in stage 2 will be to build a robust, structured and regular forum for stakeholder engagement with listed authorities in Scotland and equality advocacy groups which focuses on improving the effectiveness and operation of the PSED in Scotland. The SRG’s focus will be on proposed improvement activity designed to enable better performance of the PSED in Scotland, as outlined in the Scottish Government’s Regulation 12 Report 2025-29.

Objectives

The objectives of the SRG are to:

• provide a robust, structured and regular forum for engagement between the Scottish Government, Scottish listed authorities and equality advocacy groups on the topic of improving the operation of PSED in Scotland - the aim will be to enhance transparency by creating opportunities for shared consensus while also being open to challenge
• hold the Scottish Government accountable for proposed PSED improvement activity – as set out in the Regulation 12 Report 2025/29 – by providing a constructive scrutiny function which will feed into the Scottish Government’s wider governance framework and strengthening accountability
• support delivery of PSED improvement activity in Scotland, including by sharing views on proposed reforms of the regulatory framework; and sharing best practice to drive non-regulatory reform which can support Scottish listed authorities’ to meet the three needs of the PSED, namely to advance equality, eliminate discrimination and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

Status and membership

The SRG is a voluntary and time-limited group. Membership will include those with experience and expertise in improving the operation of the PSED in Scotland and/or in advancing equality with awareness of the impact of the PSED and the SSDs. Members will represent listed authorities in Scotland, their equality networks and independent equality advocacy representatives/groups from across Scotland. A membership list can be found on the group page.

Membership of the SRG does not constitute a public appointment. There will be no remuneration, financial or otherwise, for the time members commit to participating in the SRG, as members are all salaried by their supporting organisations; and as such the time asked of members will be limited. Members are also not subject to other terms and/or conditions such as length of tenure or notice periods. Members are selected in recognition that informing the work to improve the operation of the PSED in Scotland is a within the scope and relevant to their existing work and role, for which no additional payment is required.

Representatives from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Scotland Office may be invited to attend the SRG from time to time, to provide support and advice, but as an independent statutory body with monitoring and regulatory functions (in compliance with the Paris Principles, the EHRC will not have any ownership of the outputs or be a standing member of the SRG. The Paris Principles (officially known as the "Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions") are a set of international standards adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 that provide the framework for what National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) should be and how they should operate. One key aspect of the Paris Principles is Independence. NHRIs must be established by law with a clear mandate and be independent from government control, both financially and operationally.

Attendance

The SRG will be convened and chaired by the Scottish Government’s Deputy Director for Mainstreaming and Inclusion. Members should prioritise attending meetings (usually to be conducted via Microsoft Teams) personally. In exceptional circumstances, proxy representatives may be accepted. If neither attendance nor proxy representation is possible, members should send apologies in advance of meetings.

The Scottish Minister responsible for the Equalities portfolio will aim to attend at least one meeting of the SRG per calendar year. However, this may be subject to sudden changes due to parliamentary business.

Other non-members may be co-opted to attend meetings on an ad hoc basis, as appropriate, such as to present relevant information or provide expert advice.

It should be noted that members have been deliberately selected to represent their respective sectors and organisations and are expected to act as bridges to their wider networks. As part of their contributions members should engage with their networks to gather perspectives and bring these views back to the SRG. Where wider input is needed from a particular sector, the existing representative member should facilitate this consultation rather than requesting additional permanent members from the same organisation or sector.

Additional members may be added to the SRG to address any identified gaps in membership representation but will be subject to agreement by the Chair.

Frequency and lifecycle

The SRG is expected to meet three times a year, between January 2026 and December 2029. Meeting will normally be scheduled for between 1 hour 30 minutes and 2 hours as required. It is anticipated that a broad schedule of April, September, December pattern will be followed but this may be subject to change.

The Chair may call an emergency meeting of the SRG with a minimum of two weeks’ notice if an immediate priority relating to the Scottish Government’s PSED improvement activity emerges. If this instance, members will be notified with as much notice as possible and papers will be issued with at least 24 hours’ notice.

The Secretariat will undertake a mid-stage review of the operation of the SRG in 2027, in consultation with members. This will provide an opportunity to review the operation, membership and objectives of the SRG. This will form part of the Scottish Government’s process to report on progress on delivery of the 2025-29 proposals for enabling better performance of the PSED in Scotland. A progress report will be due for publication in December 2027. This publication is in line with Scottish Ministers’ statutory duty under Regulation 12 (2) of the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012, more commonly referred to as the Scottish Specific Duties.

The Secretariat will undertake a final-stage review of the continuation of the SRG in its current format in 2029, in consultation with members. This will form part of the Scottish Government’s process to shape new proposals to enable better performance of the PSED in Scotland between December 2029 to December 2033, and will be factored into these future proposals. New proposals will be due to be published in December 2029. This publication is in line with Scottish Ministers’ statutory duty under Regulation 12 (1) of the Scottish Specific Duties.

Secretariat

Secretariat functions will be provided by Scottish Government officials from the PSED Improvement Team of the Mainstreaming and Inclusion Division.

Papers will be circulated by the secretariat one week prior to meetings and members will be encouraged to contribute evidence, information and views via correspondence between meetings, as appropriate.

All members are expected to review papers in advance of meetings and to come prepared to contribute to discussions. The Secretariat will be responsible for sharing papers in advance of meetings, and distributing minutes and actions following each meeting.

Meeting minutes will be taken by the secretariat and issued to members for agreement within 3 weeks of the previous  meeting. From April 2026, all SRG meeting minutes will be summarised and anonymised before being published on the Scottish Government’s gov.scot website. Once cleared by the Chair, all summarised meeting minutes should be published online before the next regularly scheduled meeting takes place.

All papers, documents and other materials developed by or on behalf of the SRG will be stored within the Scottish Government’s electronic records and document management system.

Members should treat working documents as confidential until formally published. Draft materials should not be shared outside the SRG members without prior agreement from the Chair or the Secretariat. Members should be mindful of data protection requirements when handling any materials.

Accountability and compliance

Scottish Government officials will remain accountable to Scottish Ministers, in line with normal Civil Service arrangements. Members of the SRG will retain their own accountability.

The SRG will comply with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs). Papers for the meetings will be shared with the SRG members by email. This means information may be disclosed in response to FOI requests unless an exemption applies. Members should be aware that emails and documents they contribute may be subject to these regulations. The Scottish Government will manage any FOI requests relating to the SRG's activities.

Review of the ToR

The ToR will be reviewed and agreed by the SRG at the first meeting of 2026 (meeting 4 – scheduled for 22 April 2026).

The ToR will be reviewed periodically at the instigation and agreement of the Chair or the Secretariat.

Ways of working

For the purposes of clarity and to ensure engagement can be as productive, inclusive and accessible as possible, the following guideline around ‘ways of working’ have been outlined below. It is envisioned these meeting will mostly take place online (via Microsoft Teams) to accommodate the regional spread and varying time commitments and responsibilities of members

The following meeting etiquette guidelines for online meetings are proposed:

• it is requested that all members remain on mute unless presenting or called to speak by the Chair. This helps to avoid background noise and distractions as well as making it easier to hear the speaker
• if a member wishes to speak they should do so using the ‘raise hand’ function found in the top toolbar of Microsoft Teams calls
• to support inclusive communications such as British Sign Language interpretation or the use of Palantypists - members should speak clearly and at a steady pace
• in line with best practice, all meetings will include a short break of 5 to 10 minutes every hour
• while using the chat function to ask questions, make comments and share links to helpful resources is encouraged, it is requested that members try to avoid creating a separate discussion in the chat
• it should also be noted that it may not be possible to respond to all questions and comments in the chat in real time (unless this is part of a specifically requested accessibility adjustment), but the secretariat will endeavour to do so after the meeting

To support a more hybrid approach to collaboration with partners there may be opportunities for in person meetings from time to time with the option for members to join remotely if they so wish. Members will be notified of any proposed in person meetings well in advance. Attendance will be encouraged but will not be mandatory.

There may also be instances where views from members are sought via email, in-between meetings, and general consensus or request for comment may be required. Members are asked to respond to these emails at the earliest opportunity in line with any set deadlines outlined.

Both for online and in person meetings – as well as email exchanges - the secretariat will endeavour to put in place any accessibility adjustments as requested, to enable full participation of members.

This is not an exhaustive list and new points may be added to the ‘ways of working’ section if agreed by the SRG.