UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill: equality impact assessment

Equality Impact Assessment for The UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill

Title of policy: UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill

Summary of aims and desired outcomes of policy

The UEFA European Championship, also referred to as ‘EURO’, is a four yearly tournament. It is between UEFA’s national member football associations. Scotland will co-host EURO 2028 as part of a joint UK and Ireland Championship. The event is expected to take place in Summer 2028 and last around four weeks. All matches being hosted in Scotland will be held at Hampden Park, Glasgow.

Legislation is being put in place to control advertising and trading in designated event zones in Glasgow during EURO 2028. It will also prohibit touting of Championship tickets across Scotland. This will help meet the requirements to co-host the Championship.

Directorate : Culture and External Affairs

Division : Major Events

Team : UEFA EURO 2028 Unit

Executive summary

The Scottish Government has undertaken an Equality Impact Assessment of the UEFA European Championship 2028 (Scotland) Bill (the Bill). We considered the potential impacts of the Bill on people with one or more protected characteristics.

Based on the available evidence, this assessment has not identified any negative impacts of the Bill on any of the protected groups. There are some minor positive impacts and opportunities to enhance equality. However, we anticipate that the Bill’s overall impact on protected groups will be neutral.

Scotland will co-host the Union of European Football Associations' (UEFA) European Championship 2028, also referred to as ‘EURO 2028’, as part of a joint UK and Ireland Championship.

The UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill (the Bill) aims to help ensure successful delivery of EURO 2028, by meeting UEFA’s commercial rights requirements for Scotland to host matches in Glasgow.

The Bill will strengthen restrictions on street trading, advertising, ticketing and provide for enforcement of these restrictions for EURO 2028. Street trading and advertising restrictions will only be in place over a period of time close to and during EURO 2028. They will only apply in specific areas in Glasgow, called ‘event zones’. Ticketing restrictions will apply throughout Scotland to EURO 2028 match tickets only.

The equality impacts of the Bill primarily concern street traders, pedlars, and advertisers within event zones at Hampden Park and in other locations during prohibited times, to be specified in regulations. While there may be potential effects on communities in or around these event zones, we anticipate these will be minimal.

Ticketing measures will apply throughout Scotland, preventing the touting of Championship tickets. This is expected to support fair access to tickets and help maintain public confidence in the event.

We have identified a lack of supporting data/evidence related to the street traders, advertisers and communities affected by the Bill who may also have protected characteristics.

We do not have information on protected characteristics for street traders. This is because Glasgow City Council does not currently request an Equality and Diversity Monitoring questionnaire to be completed as part of its licence application process for street trading. Pedlars planning to trade in event zones will also be affected by the Bill. Pedlar licences allow the holders to trade anywhere in the UK therefore we are unable to assess how many pedlars will be affected by the Bill as this will depend how many pedlars with licenses decide to Glasgow to trade during EURO 2028. Potentially pedlars could travel from other parts of the UK to trade during EURO 2028. The Scottish Government understands that this has happened for other major events in the city.

Glasgow City Council will offer street traders affected by the Bill alternative trading arrangements during the times the restrictions are in place. The aim is to help minimise any impacts on street traders. Pedlars can trade in other areas of the city without obtaining permission.

We undertook a public consultation in support of the Bill. The initial scoping of this EQIA helped with the design of the questions included in the public consultation. The Scottish Government published the analysis of responses to the public consultation^[1] and also the Scottish Government’s response^[2] on 11 October 2024.

Most respondents to the public consultation felt that the proposed street trading, advertising and ticketing measures for EURO 2028 would have no impact on them. Some respondents to the public consultation did highlight possible negative impacts on vulnerable and disabled people, however these focused on the EURO 2028 event itself and not on the impacts of the Bill (which as set out above focuses on commercial rights protection). Further information on the public consultation is provided at Annex A.

The limited evidence available does not suggest the Bill will affect people with certain protected characteristics in a different way from the rest of the people affected.

The limited evidence available does not suggest the Bill will affect people with certain protected characteristics more than people with other protected characteristics.

The limited evidence available does not suggest the Bill will affect people with intersecting characteristics in a different way from other people.

Like all attendees, we expect that all individuals who have protected characteristics who attend EURO 2028 will benefit from the Bill provisions that protect the integrity of the Championship, prevent over-commercialisation, ensure safety and security and tackle ticket touting.

Conversely, the Bill will restrict the choice of goods people can buy in event zones. This could be seen as an indirect negative impact on attendees, including those with protected characteristics. However, there are also positives here too as people will know they are buying official merchandise. This could be important for disabled people with sight impairments or for people from minority ethnic communities whose first language is not English.

Based on best practice, providing guidance on the restrictions set out in the Bill in accessible formats could benefit some groups in terms of compliance. This includes disabled people, minority ethnic and faith communities and in terms of people’s socio-economic background. There do not appear to be any barriers to the other protected groups in terms of complying with the measures in this Bill.

The Bill places a duty on Glasgow City Council to publish guidance for street traders, pedlars and other businesses affected by the restrictions. It is expected that this will be available online, in hard copy and in different languages and accessible formats (audio, audio description, braille, British sign language etc). We also expect that the guidance will be available in easy read format.

The Bill includes an exemption from ticketing measures for charity auctions. One respondent to the public consultation included comments that were supportive of this approach.

As well as fulfilling their main purpose of protecting UEFA’s commercial rights, a secondary benefit of ticket touting measures set out in the Bill could be positive benefits for people with protected characteristics alongside the wider population by helping to ensure fair and equitable access to tickets for the championship. This point links into the Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment for the Bill in particular.

It is possible that enforcement activity around EURO 2028 could affect protected groups differently than the rest of the population. For example, around communication with enforcement officers, particularly for disabled people with hearing or sight impairments and minority ethnic communities where English is not their first language. There is no evidence to suggest that this was an issue during EURO 2020. In addition, enforcement officers will already be complying with the Equality Duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010. Existing procedures also involve access to a translation service if a person does not speak English and access to assistance for those who are hearing or visually impaired.

This EQIA has been shared with Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life for awareness and to help inform the guidance they will be preparing for businesses affected by the Bill, and to inform the approach to enforcement activity

The Bill^[3] was introduced to Parliament on 12 March 2025. This Equality Impact Assessment and a suite of other impact assessments have been published^[4].

Background

Who the Bill affects

We expect that a small number of the businesses will be affected by the Bill. These are advertisers/advertising space owners and street traders operating in designated event zones in Glasgow at certain times during EURO 2028 and ticket resale platforms. However, it should be highlighted that tickets purchased from a secondary ticket platform or social media are already invalid under UEFA’s current terms and conditions. There may also be impacts on members of the public who want to sell a championship ticket for profit, and on – local communities in or close to the event zones in Glasgow. We expect that individual and community impacts will be minimal and likely related to any enforcement activity undertaken. The ticket touting offence applies throughout Scotland and therefore potentially could impact on the general public as a whole.

EURO 2028

The Scottish Government is working closely with the UK Government, Welsh Government, Northern Ireland Executive and the Government of Ireland on the operating environment for EURO 2028.

Scotland previously co-hosted EURO 2020. At that time Scotland was one of eleven host nations.

Some mega sporting events require certain protections and specific legislation may need to be put in place as a result.^[5] For EURO 2028, UEFA has requirements to protect its own and event sponsors’ commercial rights during the event

The UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill aims to meet these requirements.

The Bill puts in place additional protections, including relevant criminal offences and enforcement powers, around unauthorised: street trading; advertising and resale of tickets (ticket touting).

The additional protections would not be required once the event is over. They would therefore end a reasonable period after event activity finished.

The measures related to unauthorised street trading and advertising would only apply in event zones located at Hampden Park and in other locations during prohibited times, to be specified in regulations. The additional protections around ticket touting for EURO 2028 would apply Scotland-wide, in person and online.

All matches will take place at Hampden Park Stadium. Exact locations of event zones have not yet been confirmed by Glasgow City Council. However, it is expected that there will be an event zone at Hampden Park and further event zone(s) designated in the city, which will be subject to further engagement.

Glasgow City Council issues street trading licenses. These allow license holders to only trade in certain areas of the city. Police Scotland, as well as police forces from other parts of the UK, issue pedlar’s certificates which allow pedlars to trade anywhere in the UK. Both street traders and pedlars planning to trade during EURO 2028 will be potentially affected by the Bill. Holding a licence, certificate or any other permit that would normally allow trade on the street will not exempt someone from the street trading offence in events zones during EURO 2028. However, the opportunity EURO 2028 presents is in addition to what these traders could usually expect.

Equality Impacts

The development of this EQIA has been informed by the public sector equality duty which requires the Scottish Government to pay “due regard” to the need to meet its obligations under the Equality Act 2010.^[6]

The EQIA provides a summary of the key findings from the work undertaken by Scottish Government officials to assess any potential equality impacts of the Bill. It also evaluates how the Bill may affect different segments of the population both positively and negatively. There is also a proactive duty to promote equality.

Scottish Government teams with a policy interest have been involved in the development of this EQIA. Scottish Government analysts and economists have also contributed. Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life and Police Scotland have also been engaged.

Scope of Equality Impact Assessment

This EQIA focuses entirely on the EURO 2028 Bill and its regulations. The Bill is focused on protecting UEFA’s commercial rights and those of its partners. The street trading and advertising measures will only affect directly a relatively small number of people in Glasgow during EURO 2028. The ticket touting measures will apply more generally to people in Scotland.

UEFA EURO 2028 brings a compelling opportunity to create a long-lasting impact and legacy that delivers for communities across the UK and Ireland - before, during and after the event. In conjunction with partners, plans are being developed that will deliver social, sporting and economic benefits through leveraging the power and platform of UEFA EURO 2028.Equality impact considerations for wider aspects of EURO 2028 will be explored in a separate assessment where appropriate.

The protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation were assessed in this EQIA. It was decided that it was not necessary to make an assessment related to pregnancy/maternity and marriage/civil partnership given the technical focus of the Bill and its regulations. All three of the Public Sector Equality Duty needs were considered.

The Scottish Government has prepared a suite of impact assessments for the Bill including this EQIA. A Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSDA), Child Rights and Well-being Impact Assessment (CRWIA) and Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) have been undertaken. The FSDA is closely aligned to this EQIA. It has been decided that a full and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) will not be required for the Bill. A partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) was published alongside the public consultation and an updated BRIA was published alongside the Bill. The BRIA^[7] incorporates Consumer Duty considerations.

This EQIA is informed by the data and other evidence that is currently available related to the characteristics of the people we expect will be most affected by the Bill. A public consultation was also undertaken for the EURO 2028 Bill and its findings have usefully informed the development of the Bill and the suite of impact assessments undertaken in support of it.

To address evidence gaps and shape this EQIA, the Scottish Government engaged with a range of EURO 2028 partner organisations including Glasgow City Council, Police Scotland and the Scottish FA. We also contacted a wide range of other organisations and communities - including those representing protected groups - to highlight the public consultation, invite participation and offer the opportunity to meet Scottish Government officials to discuss the Bill further. In person engagement at Hampden Stadium was also undertaken with street traders potentially affected, along with in person and virtual engagement sessions which were widely promoted to those potentially impacted by the Bill. None of the organisations and people we engaged with on the Bill highlighted issues related to the protected characteristics.

In preparing this EQIA, potential sources of quantitative and qualitative evidence for each of the protected characteristics were explored. The overall package of data and evidence which is currently available to undertake this EQIA is limited. However, our assessment is that it is adequate for the purposes of undertaking an assessment of the impacts of the Bill. Further details of the evidence considered for this EQIA- including the findings of the public consultation- are included at Annex A.

Key findings

The EQIA process for the Bill has identified that:

• based on the evidence available, there are no negative impacts of the Bill on any of the protected groups. There are some positive impacts (for example- around the ticket touting measures which help ensure fair access) and opportunities to boost equality (accessibility of compliance guidance). Overall, we expect the impact of the Bill on protected groups to be neutral;
• there was a need to assess the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation;
• all three of the Public Sector Equality Duty needs should be considered;
• there are gaps in supporting data/evidence related to the traders, advertisers and communities affected by the Bill who may also have protected characteristics;
• there is minimal evidence to suggest the Bill will affect people with certain protected characteristics in a different way from the rest of the people affected;
• there is minimal evidence to suggest the Bill will affect certain protected characteristics more than other protected characteristics;
• there is minimal evidence to suggest the Bill will affect people with protected characteristics in a different way from other people;
• evidence available shows that a small number street traders will be affected by the Bill, however there is no information on their protected characteristics as this information is not collected by Glasgow City. Pedlars may also be affected, however, information on numbers and those with protected characteristics is not available. In addition, advertisers/advertising space owners located in events zones and communities in event zones could be affected by the Bill;
• largely respondents to the public consultation felt they were unaffected by the restrictions set out in the Bill. None of the respondents highlighted any negative impacts of the Bill on protected groups;
• despite the evidence gaps our view is that there is sufficient evidence to undertake this assessment given the technical nature of the Bill and the fact that in the main it will only affect a relatively small number of people in Glasgow, during a short period of time. We also expect mitigations will be in place- such as the offer of alternative sites for street traders- to reduce any negative impacts;
• based on best practice and learning from EURO 2020, providing guidance for businesses on the street trading and advertising restrictions set out in the Bill in accessible formats could benefit some groups in terms of compliance;
• impacts of the Bill on communities in and around event zones will largely be related to enforcement activity. As part of their wider role, Glasgow City Council (Trading Standards) and Police Scotland will also already be complying with Equality Duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010, and the Human Rights Act 1998.
• ticket touting restrictions will apply throughout Scotland. A secondary benefit of ticket touting measures set out in the Bill could be benefits for people with protected characteristics alongside similar benefits for the wider population by helping to ensure fair and equitable access to tickets for the championship
• enforcement activity could particularly impact on disabled people with visual and sight impairments and minority ethnic communities whose first language is not English. However, our assessments is that appropriate mitigations are in place to address any issues that might emerge.

Recommendations and conclusion

Based on the evidence available, no negative impacts of the Bill on any of the protected groups have been identified by this assessment. Overall, we expect the impact of the Bill on protected groups to be neutral.

There are certain provisions in the Bill that could create positive impacts relevant to this EQIA. These are:

• Provisions that protect the integrity of the Championship, prevent over-commercialisation, ensure safety and security and tackle ticket touting. This will benefit protected groups in the same way as the wider population. By its nature the Bill will restrict the choice of goods people can buy in event zones. but there are positives here too as people will know they are buying official merchandise.
• An exemption for auctions for registered charities to avoid criminalising people in such circumstances.
• The ticket touting measures which will help ensure fair and equitable access to tickets for the championship.

There are some more specific planned mitigations related to the Bill which will also have positive impacts on the protected groups as part of the wider population:

• Glasgow City Council will work with all street traders affected by the Bill to identify alternative sites to trade during the times the restrictions are in place. The aim is to help minimise any impacts on street traders income.
• The Bill places a duty on Glasgow City Council to publish guidance for street traders, pedlars and other businesses affected by the restrictions. It is expected that this will be available online, in hard copy and in different languages and accessible formats. We also expect that the guidance will be available in easy read format.

It is possible that enforcement activity could affect protected groups differently than the rest of the population. For example, disabled people with hearing or sight impairments and minority ethnic communities where English is not their first language.

• As part of their wider role, Glasgow City Council (Trading Standards)- who will likely have primary responsibility for enforcing any restrictions on trading and advertising provided for the Bill - will also already be complying with Equality Duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010 as will other lead partners like Police Scotland.
• Glasgow City Council Trading Standards has confirmed that it has existing procedures which involve access to a translation service if a person does not speak English and access to assistance for those who are hearing or visually impaired.

This EQIA has been shared with Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life for awareness and to help inform the guidance they will be preparing for businesses and communities affected by the Bill.

Monitoring and evaluation

The Scottish Government will continue to assess potential impacts on people with protected characteristics during the Bill’s parliamentary passage.

Evaluation plans for EURO 2028 as a whole are still to be developed. We expect legislation will be included in this evaluation and will be engaging with partners on this. Once tournament evaluation scope is clearer, the Scottish Government will determine whether any further specific evaluation of the legislation is required.

Sign off:

Name: Rachael McKechnie

Job title: Deputy Director, Major Events, Scottish Government

Authorisation date: 28 March 2025