Fairer Scotland Action Plan

2. Homes and communities – Affordability 4. Community participation and public and access to housing were major issues, services – Public involvement in democracy for example in relation to increasing housing was one of the most talked about issues in supply, taking action on private sector rent the conversation. There was a call for greater levels and helping lower income households opportunities for local people to play a part in to buy their own home. A variety of ideas were decisions that affect them and their communities. suggested on how to improve the standard of housing in both the private rented sector and The role of public services was another in social housing, including tougher penalties standout issue to come out of the discussion. for landlords providing sub-standard housing. The key point raised was that service providers Housing features as one sub-section of this plan. should listen to and involve service users at the design stage so that any new service

3. Early years, education and health – Childcare ‘fits’ the needs of people as best it can. This was another key issue in the discussion, with point was made in particular about integrated many suggesting that childcare flexibility health services, education and transport. and choice were as important as availability, particularly for parents who work outside of Access to services was raised in relation to rural nursery or school hours. There was also much communities, arguing that more resources were discussion about the costs of childcare and needed to improve access. Improving broadband a view that more affordable childcare would access and speed to provide better access help parents who wanted to move into work. to online services was one example given. There was a view that vocational learning These issues are covered in the Action Plan. should have the same value and resources as academic learning. A number of suggestions were made about how to encourage young people to follow vocational career pathways. Nutrition and access to healthy food were seen as key health issues, particularly for children. Mental health was another important focus, with a strong argument for mental health services to have the same priority as physical health services, both in terms of quality and access. Support for carers was raised, with calls for greater availability of respite for carers, and for Carer’s Allowance to be raised. These issues are addressed in this Action Plan. 10/11

5. Respect and dignity – Respect and dignity These are short summary descriptions of a emerged as strong themes in terms of how nine-month conversation across Scotland. people are treated by public services and, in We can’t do justice here to what were rich particular, the social security system. Many and wide-ranging discussions – so if you people felt that the UK welfare service should want to know more about the conversation, be fairer, more helpful, provide security and please read the full interim report.2 treat everyone with respect. On specific social security benefits, restoring lifetime awards for people with permanent or deteriorating conditions was one suggestion. There was also a view that people should be made fully aware of the benefits they were entitled to by right and that help should be offered to complete the necessary forms to make a claim. There were also a number of discussions about ending discrimination and advancing equality. For example, there were suggestions about greater representation of minority ethnic communities in senior positions and in key decision making roles. Greater representation of women across society was raised, including that there should be a 50/50 gender split in company boardrooms and in senior positions. Reducing the gender pay gap was another key issue. Promotion of LGBTI issues across society was proposed in order to generate greater awareness, with transgender issues a particular focus. The issue of care for older people was also discussed as was the issue of loneliness and the need to address social isolation among older people. Again, these are key issues addressed in the Action Plan and across our work in government. 2 www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00497495.pdf Fairer Scotland Action Plan THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE The Fairer Scotland conversation has already In proposing 50 actions for a fairer Scotland, informed the Scottish Government’s thinking the Scottish Government is working to meet its in many ways. It helped develop our ideas wider equality, human rights and sustainable ahead of the election and was reflected in the development goal obligations. Bold, positive first Programme for Government published in measures are needed to achieve equality for all September. New economic and fairness priorities and we have outlined some of the specific actions have already been set out for the new government: we are taking here. The Action Plan also responds to the Equality and Human Rights Commission the First Minister has said that ‘the Scottish report ‘Is Scotland Fairer’ (February 2016), which Government has a plan... to build a more sets out a number of key challenges for Scotland prosperous nation with a dynamic, sustainable to address. and inclusive economy, with public services that put people’s needs first, and where every Finally, we have looked to the Poverty and Fairness individual has true equality of opportunity’; Commissions that have been set up by local a consultation on the first Scottish Social authorities – and have read their reports with great Security Bill, which will make a big difference interest. Some of the pledges included in the plan to how social security is delivered in Scotland, build on the work of these commissions. was launched in July; and, in August, we launched a consultation on a All these inputs – and more – have helped shape Child Poverty Bill, which contains proposals for thinking for this report. ambitious income targets for eradicating child poverty by 2030. While the Fairer Scotland conversations have had the strongest influence on this plan, other sources have also been very useful. The commitments in the plan reflect: our ambitions set out in our Economic and Labour Market strategies to develop a more dynamic, sustainable and inclusive economy; the thinking of the independent Fair Work Convention and its framework; ‘Shifting the Curve’ (January 2016)3, the report by the Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality; and ‘Dignity: Ending Hunger Together in Scotland’4, the report of the Independent Working Group on Food Poverty. We will respond to the Group’s recommendations following the publication of this report. We said that we would implement the Independent Advisor’s report in full and we will do so: our response to all the advisor’s recommendations is set out in detail in Annex B. 3 www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/01/1984/0 4 http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00502395.pdf 12/13 A FAIRER SCOTLAND – FIVE AMBITIONS AND FIFTY ACTIONS Fairer Scotland Action Plan FIVE AMBITIONS BY 2030 1 2 The Fairer Scotland Action Plan is built A FAIRER ENDING on FIVE HIGH-LEVEL SCOTLAND CHILD AMBITIONS that we will focus on in the FOR ALL POVERTY period to 2030. 14/15 3 4 5 A STRONG FAIRER A THRIVING START FOR ALL WORKING THIRD AGE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVES Fairer Scotland Action Plan 50 FAIRNESS ACTIONS FOR THIS PARLIAMENTARY TERM At the heart of the Plan are 50 FAIRNESS ACTIONS FOR THIS PARLIAMENTARY TERM that will help us meet these ambitions, ranging across the responsibilities of government. The plan also includes key strategies being taken forward to deliver a fairer Scotland and additional actions on new research and analysis. How will we know that the plan is really delivering? We will issue a PROGRESS REPORT by the end of 2019, setting out what we’ve achieved and how the plan has helped us make progress on our ambitions, and in line with our legal obligations to integrate equality in our work. We will look at what’s working well and less well, why and for whom. This Action Plan is the start of a long-term commitment to help shape a fairer Scotland. We will see these actions through for this parliamentary term, but we’ll also commit to new actions for the next one. So we will hold a CITIZEN’S FORUM in the second half of this parliament, inviting many of those who took part in the previous conversations to help us identify new areas of focus. The Citizen’s Forum will help us set out NEW FAIRNESS ACTIONS FOR THE NEXT SESSION OF PARLIAMENT. “ This Action Plan is the start of a long-term commitment to help shape a fairer Scotland.” 16/17 CAN YOU HELP? Creating a fairer Scotland will require all of us – Government, communities of all kinds; people with experience of poverty; business and industry; the public and the third sector – to work together to achieve change. Government cannot deliver change on its own, nor would we want to. We will continue to work with anyone and everyone to make these actions a reality. That’s why the Action Plan features commitments from a range of organisations from across the UK who want to help us build a fairer Scotland. Thanks to the following organisations who have made a pledge: CARNEGIE UK TRUST DUNDEE FAIRNESS PARTNERSHIP INCLUSION SCOTLAND JOSEPH ROWNTREE FOUNDATION LLOYDS TSB FOUNDATION SCOTLAND NHS HEALTH SCOTLAND THE POVERTY TRUTH COMMISSION THE PRINCE’S TRUST SCOTLAND TIMEWISE & FAMILY FRIENDLY WORKING SCOTLAND VIRGIN MONEY WORKING FAMILIES YOUNG SCOT YOUTHLINK We’d like to hear what you can do too. What are you doing to help make Scotland a fairer place? Please tell us, using the contact details at the back of this plan. Fairer Scotland Action Plan 50 FAIRNESS ACTIONS FOR THIS PARLIAMENTARY TERM 18/19 A FAIRER SCOTLAND FOR ALL The Fairer Scotland conversations told us that a socially just country would have very low levels of poverty. As our economy prospered, the proceeds of growth would be shared widely and fairly. Decent affordable housing would be in place for everyone who wanted it. All our communities would feel empowered to take action on the priorities that matter most to them. The welfare system would be available to anyone who needed it and that safety net would be valued by all of us. Our public services would be of the highest quality, always treating people with dignity and respect. We would have narrowed health, justice and educational inequalities significantly. Digital technologies would be being used actively by everyone, with scarce resources being focused where they were most needed. And we would, through our collective action, have progressed equality for all and protected and enhanced human rights. Here is a set of key actions that the Scottish Government will take to help achieve this vision. 20/21 Fairer Scotland Action Plan POVERTY AND LOW INCOME Poverty was central to the Fairer Scotland discussion, with a strong sense that society should be doing everything it can to reduce and ultimately end poverty in all its forms, whether that’s child poverty; food poverty; or fuel poverty. Poverty is an issue that is addressed across the whole of this Action Plan. 01 In 2017, we will introduce a new socio-economic duty on public bodies. The public sector is key to delivering a fairer Scotland and this new duty will help make sure that the sector takes full account of poverty and disadvantage when key decisions are being made. We will also look to make the most of the connection between this duty and those on equality and 02 human rights, and a similar duty on education authorities. We will provide £100,000 new funding so that, across Scotland, people with experience of living in poverty can speak out, tackle stigma and push for change to public services. People with experience of poverty are increasingly influential in the public debate on tackling the causes and consequences of poverty. We currently part-fund The Poverty Truth Commission, based in Glasgow, which has been very successful in getting the voices of people who have experienced poverty into the national debate. We will provide start-up funding for three different communities who want to work in a similar way across Scotland. The Poverty Truth Commission has agreed to advise us on how to make this a success. And we have already agreed to provide the Dundee Partnership with funding to help this happen in Dundee. 22/23 03 Building on the work of local Fairness and Poverty Commissions, we will establish a national Poverty and Inequality Commission in 2017/18. Right at the heart of the commission will be the voices and experiences of people with experience of poverty. The full details of what the commission will do are still being firmed up, with tackling child poverty expected to be a major task. The commission will also be asked to look at how government can help advance the prospects of 04 those communities who feel left behind because of changing economic circumstances, low pay, and deprivation. We will launch a new £29 million programme, including £12.5 million from the European Social Fund, to tackle poverty in Scotland. Across the country, communities and the third sector play a vital role in helping people to overcome poverty, disadvantage and discrimination. Over the next two years, the programme will enable communities and third sector organisations to design, test and deliver innovative approaches to combat poverty and improve people’s lives. For example, the programme will help to provide additional childcare, create new jobs, and support local community-led priorities including community food initiatives, and making best use of buildings and other assets. Fairer Scotland Action Plan “ The Poverty Truth Commission (PTC) pledges to work to ensure that people experiencing poverty are at the heart of work to overcome it. From experience we know that when people living in poverty are included, change happens – and we want to continue and grow this work. So we will launch a 4th round of The PTC in January 2017, bringing together people experiencing poverty and key decision makers in Scottish society for an 18 month period. We will aim in this process to listen to the voices of some of the poorest in our society, not just the easiest to reach. As a specific commitment for this plan, we pledge to offer advice to the Scottish Government on how new community groups, which follow the PTC model, can be best set up in three local areas of Scotland.” Elaine Downie, Poverty Truth Commission Read the full pledge on p85 24/25 05 We will take action to tackle the poverty premium. The ‘poverty premium’ is shorthand for the fact that lower income households often have to pay higher prices for basic necessities like gas, electricity and banking than better-off families. The poverty premium was a major concern in the Fairer Scotland conversations. This autumn, the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities will convene a summit with energy companies to help low income consumers get a better deal on their fuel bills. Energy companies are among our key partners in delivering a fairer Scotland, making sure this aspect of the poverty premium is properly tackled. This important summit is one of a range of actions we are taking to help tackle fuel poverty, allocating over £500 million in this area since 2009 and more than £113 million this year. Making affordable credit more easily available will be one part of cross-government action on financial inclusion in 2017. This will follow up on proposals from the Carnegie Foundation on affordable credit and responds to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which has said that ‘a stronger focus on financial inclusion is needed in Scotland’.5 Our approach will make sure that low-income consumers have access to the goods and services that enable them to avoid the poverty premium, such as affordable internet access and the digital skills and confidence to transact online to facilitate switching. To do this, we will need to work with the banking and finance sector, as well as the third sector and other local organisations such as Housing Associations to make the most of the leverage we have. We will also develop a Financial Health Check service for people on low incomes to help them make the most of their money and to secure the best energy tariffs and access to bank accounts. And we will work with our partners to ensure that Scotland’s advice sector provides high quality, accessible advice that helps make people’s lives better. 5 www.jrf.org.uk/report/scotland-without-poverty Fairer Scotland Action Plan 06 We will deliver 100% superfast broadband access by 2021, helping low income households reduce costs. Digital connectivity for all is vital to a strong, inclusive society. The Scottish Government and our partners are already investing £410 million through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme to extend fibre broadband access to at least 95% of premises across Scotland. But we now intend to go beyond this and ensure 100% superfast broadband access by 2021. This commitment will benefit the whole of Scotland, particularly those in rural and remote areas with limited or no access to broadband. This commitment could also mean major savings for people on low incomes: we know that households can save between £500 and £750 a year by being online and we have already funded a number of affordable broadband pilots in social housing settings. We will continue to work with the sector to develop affordable, sustainable internet access and to ensure tenants get training and support to develop basic digital skills. 26/27 “ On behalf of Virgin Money, I pledge to do my best to make banking fairer and more accessible for the people of Scotland. We are building a bank that aims to treat our customers fairly. That’s why we recently launched our basic bank account, the Essential Current Account, a fair and simple product that can help those who are finding it difficult to get a bank account. We are currently working with Scotcash to make basic bank accounts more readily available to people in the Glasgow area.” Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO Virgin Money Plc Read the full pledge on p87 Fairer Scotland Action Plan “ The Carnegie UK Trust pledges to help improve access to affordable credit in Scotland. Thousands of people borrow money from high cost lenders to meet everyday needs. Offering attractive and affordable alternatives could save people in our poorest communities thousands of pounds every year. We want to help Scotland’s not-for-profit affordable credit providers to grow and to reach many more people. And we will commit resources and work in partnership with the Scottish Government, local authorities, affordable credit providers, housing associations, banks and charities to achieve this goal.” Angus Hogg, Chair Of The Carnegie UK Trust Read the full pledge on p80 28/29 PARTICIPATION, DIGNITY AND RESPECT Participation, dignity and respect were key to the Fairer Scotland conversations. On public services, there was a strong argument that people should be involved and listened to at the service design stage so that they better fit the needs of local people; and that dignity, politeness and respect should be at the heart of every public service. Many people also wanted to be helped to have their say – and play their part – in what was happening in their local communities. We will do more to help people to have a say in their local areas. 07 We will set a target for Where they need it, we will We will empower our Councils to have at least help communities to start communities to tackle poverty 1% of their budget subject talking to public bodies and inequality on their own to participatory budgeting about local issues and local terms through the Empowering which will be supported by services – on their terms. Communities Fund. The fund the £2 million Community ‘Participation requests’ are supports community-led Choices Fund. The fund gives a new process set out in the activity that allows local communities the chance to Community Empowerment people to deliver the priorities vote on how public money is (Scotland) Act 2015. Where that matter most to them. spent in their area. Targeted a community organisation Community organisations are particularly at deprived areas believes it could help in any well placed to bring about for the first time, community specific area, it will be able change and we will continue groups as well as public to ask a public body to take to support them to deliver a authorities are able to apply part in a process to improve range of activities including for funding to organise their that outcome. Community tackling environmental own Community Choices bodies can use the Act to issues, promoting local events. With over a hundred discuss with service providers economies, supporting applications received, this how they could better meet vulnerable people, promoting will lead to new participatory the needs of users, to offer good health, helping young budgeting events across volunteers to support a service people and delivering arts the country and will give or even propose to take over and cultural activity. People in more communities the the delivery of the service communities know themselves chance to make decisions themselves. We are currently what will make a difference on how and where money working on the necessary and we will support them in is spent in their area. secondary legislation and delivering their priorities. statutory guidance and expect this part of the Act to come into force before the end of 2016. This promises to be important in helping communities get things done locally on their own terms. Fairer Scotland Action Plan 08 We will take action to make democratic institutions more representative of the communities they serve. We will work with disability groups to remove the barriers to participation which prevent some people from standing for selection/election. This will include an Access to Elected Office Fund, which will meet the additional costs of disabled people standing for selection/election in the 2017 local government elections. We will reform public services to deliver 09 We’ve already committed to setting dignity and the highest quality service to users, with respect at the heart of the new Scottish Social dignity and respect at their core. The Fairer Security system and employability programmes. Scotland conversation and the community We want to see a Scotland where people have the engagement led by the Star Project for the power and ability to take control, participate and Renfrewshire Tackling Poverty Commission engage in the planning and delivery of the services heard that dignity, politeness and respect for that matter to them. We will take a range of action users were crucial to successful public services. to achieve this. For example, by September 2017, We recognise how important public services NHS Health Scotland will have begun to deliver are in the lives of people across Scotland. training in partnership with the Poverty Alliance and For many people, the quality of the relationships others to raise awareness of poverty and its impact they have with their doctor, their teacher, their on health and wellbeing amongst public services care worker or one of the many other dedicated staff. And through Self-Directed Support, we are people who work in public service makes a real embedding a new approach to social care which difference in their lives. The principles set out gives adults, children and carers more choice by the Christie Commission – to build services and control over how their support is delivered. with the care of people at their core – continue to guide our approach to public service delivery. 30/31 EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS A wide range of equality issues were raised in the Fairer Scotland conversation. We will continue do whatever we can to advance equality and progress economic and social rights. We also want to emphasise that, following the outcome of the European referendum, we will make sure that the human rights of people in Scotland, as enshrined in European law, are protected. 10 We will establish an Advisory Council on RESEARCH ACTION – A GENDER INDEX FOR SCOTLAND In spring 2017, we will publish a Gender Index for Scotland. Women and Girls. This will inform our action Following a 2015 review on to tackle workplace inequality, occupational ‘the role and contribution segregation and other issues relating to gender of women in the Scottish equality. This is an exciting opportunity to economy’, Professor Lesley bring new, strong and challenging voices to Sawers recommended the the range of issues impacting on women and development of ‘a Gender girls, throughout the course of their lives. The Equalities Index’ to track Advisory Council will highlight advances that progress of indicators relevant have been made, such as the positive progress to economic growth and around women’s representation in public life. across national and local areas. We will take action 11 to produce such an Index. This is likely to be similar to the Norwegian ‘indicators for gender equality in municipalities’, published annually. The purpose of We will make sure that refugee families who the Norwegian indicators settle here under Family Reunion rules can is to highlight differences access crisis grants quickly and efficiently. in gender equality between Organisations supporting refugees report that regions. The Scottish Index there can be significant delays in receiving benefit should enable us to draw out payments when refugees arrive in Scotland to join differences in gender equality family members already settled here. Grants are and barriers to women’s required to make sure that the new arrivals have economic progress across everything they need to begin their new lives, local areas in Scotland. This for example so that everyone has a bed. We will will provide insight on where invest to make sure whatever is needed can be specific problems or barriers available from the day refugees arrive, so they are may need to be addressed able to settle in and integrate into Scottish society in order to accelerate with the minimum of disruption to their lives. progress on gender equality and the reduction of the gender pay gap. Fairer Scotland Action Plan 12 We will take forward the implementation of the Race Equality Framework. An early priority will be to focus on employment, not least because while minority ethnic groups do well in schools and higher education, they tend to do less well in the labour market. We will also focus on increasing the opportunities for minority ethnic communities to participate, as people from ethnic minorities are politically under-represented both at national and local levels across Scotland. Our Race Equality Framework Advisor will bring focussed expertise and experience to add rigour and challenge to our approach. A NEW DISABILITY ACTION PLAN By the end of 2016, we will publish a comprehensive Disability Action Plan. This will set out how we will work across the Scottish Government to remove the barriers which prevent disabled people from maximising their potential. And it will explain how we will ensure disabled people can make their full contribution to daily and public life in Scotland. The plan will make clear the support which disabled people and their families can expect at every stage of their lives. We will be clear about the specific steps we will take to ensure they are not disadvantaged at home, school, work or in their local community. Before the end of 2016, we will publish Scotland’s first ACCESSIBLE TRAVEL FRAMEWORK to help disabled people enjoy the same travel rights as everyone else. 32/33 A FIRST BSL NATIONAL PLAN We will improve opportunities and outcomes for people whose first or preferred language is British Sign Language (BSL). Our first BSL National Plan, which we will publish in October 2017, will make firm commitments to improve access to key information and services in RESEARCH ACTION – BSL, to ensure that our Deaf and deafblind citizens who use BSL EQUALITY EVIDENCE have access to the same opportunities as their hearing peers. STRATEGY In early 2017, we will publish an Equality Evidence Strategy for the period of this parliament. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s review ‘Is Scotland Fairer?’ recommended that a more comprehensive evidence base be developed to enable 13 Scotland to assess how fair we are as a society and take action to improve fairness where needed.6 This will also include intersectional analysis where possible We will review and reform gender recognition – i.e. where two or more law so it is in line with international best equality characteristics practice for people who are Transgender combine, presenting particular or Intersex. This is a complex area of policy, issues and challenges. so we will first undertake a full and wide ranging consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition To achieve this, we will publish Act. This consultation will be launched by summer an Equality Evidence Strategy,

2017. It will cover establishing new arrangements based on consultation with for dealing with applications for legal gender equality groups and other recognition and the minimum age at which stakeholders, setting out applications for gender recognition could be how we are going to improve made. We aim to take action in response to the equality evidence and consultation shortly afterwards, with arrangements analysis in Scotland. We in place by 2020. have already produced the most far-reaching equality analysis of any Census ever, in the UK. But we still need to do more and this strategy will help us do better. 6 www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/britain-fairer/scotland-fairer-introduction/scotland-fairer-report Fairer Scotland Action Plan HOUSING Housing access and affordability and homelessness were key issues in the Fairer Scotland discussion. Housing costs are, for most of us, a major part of household spending. The Scottish Government wants to do everything it can to make sure housing is affordable and warm. That means delivering more high quality homes and supporting sectors under pressure – including helping those in private rent. 14 We will deliver more warm and more complex needs live independently affordable homes in this parliament. in their own homes; and older people During the last parliament, we surpassed to stay in their own homes for longer. our 30,000 target, delivering 33,490 There will be other improvements too. affordable homes, of which 22,523 were Wherever possible, homes delivered for social rent. We will now invest over under this programme will include ducting £3 billion over the next five years for at to help future-proof people’s access least 50,000 affordable homes, of which to internet and broadband services. 35,000 will be for social rent. Housing for social rent already has to meet our accessibility standards, but funding is also available for specialist housing – for example, helping disabled people with SUPPORT FOR RURAL AREAS We will invite Scottish Rural Action to participate in the delivery of the Fairer Scotland Action Plan to help align the fairer outputs identified at the 2016 Scottish Rural Parliament event. 34/35 15 We will deliver improved services for tenants in the private rented sector (PRS) in 2018. The PRS has doubled in size over recent years and more families with children are moving into PRS homes. We have addressed some of these pressures through legislation to increase the repairing standard in PRS homes, provide We will build on 16 new discretionary powers to local authorities to enforce landlord Scotland’s world-leading registration, and enable local authorities to support vulnerable homelessness rights. tenants, by giving them the power to report breaches of the repairs We will improve the provision standard directly to the Private Rented Housing Panel. We will of temporary accommodation, now give households living in the sector a better deal through: including for young people, by: A new no-fee Housing Tribunal to resolve working with local government disputes between tenants and landlords. to develop a new approach in The Private Residential Tenancy – this new tenancy will the face of UK welfare reforms; continue indefinitely unless the tenant wants to leave or developing minimum the landlord has specific grounds for eviction (as set out in standards, based on the legislation). This will make people feel more secure in their equivalent standards for rented homes. These tenants will also have a guarantee permanent social housing; that rents can rise only once every twelve months and the landlord will need to give three months’ notice of any introducing a cap of one week increase. This should make budgeting over time easier. for families with children and pregnant women living in B&B Letting agent regulation – this will improve the accommodation, unless there quality of service that letting agents provide. are exceptional circumstances. These new arrangements will be in place at the beginning of With local government, we

2018. We will launch a publicity and education campaign to will improve the prevention of ensure that tenants and landlords understand their rights and homelessness by launching responsibilities, and we will explore options for funding partner a Housing Options toolkit. organisations to support individuals to enforce their rights. And we will strengthen links between homelessness services and health services, including mental health and primary care services, so that the effects of homelessness on health are better understood and addressed and so that those facing homelessness combined with multiple exclusion get joined up support. Fairer Scotland Action Plan SOCIAL SECURITY AND CRISIS SUPPORT Scotland’s new social security responsibilities are a major shift in how disabled people and those on low incomes are supported. The Fairer Scotland conversations were clear that social security in Scotland and the wider UK should be significantly improved. 17 We will make social security fairer where we can. For example, we have already spent £125 million of Scottish Government funding to mitigate the bedroom tax in full and we are now committed to abolishing it: around 72,000 households are affected by the bedroom tax in Scotland and an estimated 80% of households affected by the bedroom tax contain a disabled adult.7 On disability benefits, we will introduce longer-term awards where people have a long-term condition. And we will make Universal Credit (UC) fairer by ensuring that all eligible claimants can have the rent element of their UC paid direct to their landlord if they wish; claimants will also have a choice of 18 receiving their UC payments twice monthly. We are also considering whether split payments could be offered as a choice and will continue to explore with stakeholders how we might use this power. We will do more to help carers as soon as we have the ability. Support for carers was a key theme in the Fairer Scotland discussions. A survey by Carers UK (2016) shows why. It found that over four in ten carers were struggling to make ends meet; of those, nearly half were cutting back on essentials like food and heating; and 1 in 6 were falling into arrears with housing and utility bills.8 We have already committed to increase Carer’s Allowance to the rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance – currently £73.10 per week. This will give carers an additional £600 per year. We have also made a commitment to increase Carer’s Allowance for people who care for more than one disabled child. In addition, we are considering introducing a Young Carer’s Allowance for those with significant caring responsibilities – something we have already begun to explore. 7 www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/06/6390/3 Analysis using the Family Resources Survey suggests that around 80% of households affected in Scotland contain an adult with a ‘Disability Discrimination Act’ recognised disability. 8 www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/state-of-caring-survey-2016 36/37 19 We will work with a range of partners to help people claim the benefits they are entitled to. If people claimed all the benefits they were entitled to, they would be better off and poverty rates would be lower. So we will work with advice and support services and other stakeholders to understand better the barriers that prevent people from claiming benefits. We will then address these by raising awareness, supporting people to take up their full 20 benefit entitlement. Over the term of this parliament, we will work to make Scotland a Good Food Nation by enabling more people to have access to affordable, healthy, nutritious food, in a dignified way. As a first step we will offer a range of alternatives to emergency food aid through our recently established £1 million a year Fair Food Fund which supports projects that offer a dignified response to food poverty. These projects will provide new opportunities for people on low incomes to access fresh and healthy food, share a meal and develop new skills. Fairer Scotland Action Plan HEALTH The Fairer Scotland conversation covered a range of health issues including mental health, access to services, and diet and nutrition. Other health-related issues (support for carers and on emergency food aid) are covered elsewhere in this Plan. 21 Scotland’s most deprived communities need additional support on health, so we will recruit at least 250 Community Links Workers to work with GP surgeries to connect people with local services and support. We are currently piloting 10 Links Workers in Glasgow and Dundee and evaluating their impact. By 2018, we will have at least 40 Links Workers working 22 in practices serving some of our most deprived communities. Within the next two years, we will extend home visiting services for families with young children. Because of an increase in the number of Health Visitors, additional visits and child health reviews will be available shortly and the Family Nurse Partnership programme will be offered to all eligible teenage mothers. By reaching more families, more of the time, we can further reduce health and wider inequalities. Improved child health and wellbeing is a key outcome for this investment. Our work will help health visitors to respond to vulnerable families, support them to develop their parenting capacity and guide them to access the range of services and support available. 38/39 23 From 1st April 2017 coverage of the ‘Childsmile’ national oral NEW MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY Mental health problems are more common in deprived health improvement programme will be extended to reach communities and were a even more comparatively deprived communities. A key central part of the Fairer component of the Childsmile Programme – targeted fluoride varnish Scotland conversation. application in nurseries and schools – has a proven track record in improving oral health amongst children, and helping to mitigate We will provide £150 million long-standing oral health inequalities. This will particularly benefit over five years for mental children in areas such as Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire. health services. This will tip the balance of care towards prevention and early intervention, prioritising the needs of children, young people and families and giving mental health the same importance as physical health. Our new Mental Health Strategy will be published before the end of 2016. NEW ALCOHOL FRAMEWORK NEW STRATEGY ON DIET AND OBESITY MATERNAL AND INFANT NUTRITION FRAMEWORK We will tackle health inequalities with a new alcohol framework and a new strategy on poor diet and obesity. We will also continue to make progress towards our target of Scotland being smoke-free9 by

2034. Scotland still has huge inequality between its most and least deprived communities. People in Scotland’s most advantaged communities can expect to live more than 20 years longer in good health than people in our most disadvantaged communities. Much of that is preventable and is due to the harms of tobacco, alcohol and poor diet falling hardest in our most disadvantaged communities. That’s why we will continue to prioritise public health measures that reduce health inequalities. We will also make changes to the priorities in the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Framework (2011). This is to help us focus on helping women with nutrition and diet before and during pregnancy and in the first years of life over the next five years. Over the next twelve months, we will concentrate on improving women’s health before pregnancy and on promoting, sustaining and protecting breastfeeding and improving toddlers’ diets. We will also look at how we can communicate better to reduce the problems of ill-health that begin in the early days of children’s development. 9 ‘Smoke-free’ means that fewer than one in twenty of the adult population will be regular smokers in 2034. Fairer Scotland Action Plan “ On behalf of NHS Health Scotland, I pledge to help the Scottish Government in its ambition to end child poverty in Scotland. We will take a number of key actions that will help, including: * By September 2017, develop and deliver training resources and events (in partnership) to raise awareness of child poverty and its impact on health and wellbeing amongst public services staff. * By March 2018, work in partnership with NHS Boards to develop national referral pathways between NHS services and local advice services to maximise the incomes of patients. * By March 2018, promote the importance and adoption of routine enquiry about money worries by NHS staff to help patients maximise their incomes and referral to advice services where necessary.” Gerald McLaughlin, Chief Executive, NHS Health Scotland Read the full pledge on p84 40/41 JUSTICE A fair justice system is vital to improving life chances rather than worsening inequalities. We will be refreshing our Justice Strategy to deliver a person-centred approach to justice and safer communities, focusing on prevention and protection and delivering better outcomes for people and communities. We have focused here on two key actions. 24 We will make better use of community-based interventions to reduce re-offending further and to help people move on from offending. Evidence shows that community-based interventions are more effective than short-term imprisonment at reducing rates of re-offending and helping people to maintain housing, employment and family contacts. From April 2017, a new national body, Community Justice Scotland, will work with local community and justice partners to help improve access to community interventions and implement a national strategy for community justice and reducing re-offending. Alongside continuing investment in mentoring services, new models will be implemented to better support women who offend to overcome issues with alcohol, drugs, mental health and domestic abuse trauma, which are often drivers of offending. Fairer Scotland Action Plan 25 In the first year of the current parliament, we will introduce a Bill to establish domestic abuse as a specific offence. The Bill will be introduced at a time when our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls has never been stronger and is backed by record levels of investment. The Bill will form part of wider delivery plans for Equally Safe (our strategy to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls) which will be brought forward by the end of the year. We will focus on tackling hate crime, using the findings of the Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime, Prejudice and Community Cohesion to inform a robust and far reaching programme of action in this area. 42/43 “ Scotland should be a country where, no matter where you live, everyone has the chance of a decent and secure life. JRF’s strategy to solve poverty sets a vision for 2030, in common with the Fairer Scotland Action Plan. To move towards this vision in Scotland, we pledge a range of action including: • Support for Glasgow Together, a Community Interest Company that creates full-time, Living Wage jobs for ex-offenders in construction, as well as meaningful work experience for current offenders in prison environment. JRF in alliance with other trusts and foundations raised £2 million to fund the setup of Glasgow Together.10 • Partnership with Big Society Capital to raise £20 million to invest in organisations which tackle the poverty premium in key goods and services – like Fair For You, a not-for-profit company enabling households to buy white goods and furniture more affordably than costly rent-to-buy providers: https://www.fairforyou.co.uk/ Jim McCormick, Associate Director Scotland Joseph Rowntree Foundation 10 www.glasgowtogether.co.uk/purpose Read the full pledge on p82 ENDING CHILD POVERTY The Fairer Scotland conversations made it clear: no child should have to grow up in poverty in a country as wealthy as Scotland. We have an ambition to eradicate child poverty which will mean reducing the number of people in poverty across all ages. Ultimately, this ambition will make Scotland stronger, healthier, smarter and fairer. Here are a range of actions the Scottish Government will take to make progress. 44/45 Fairer Scotland Action Plan AN AMBITION TO END CHILD POVERTY To end child poverty, we will strengthen our approach, which focuses on maximising family incomes, boosting life chances and helping build sustainable communities in which to grow up. 26 In early 2017, we will introduce a new Child Poverty Bill. We have already published a consultation on proposals to introduce child poverty income targets for 2030. We have proposed that these should be still more ambitious than the child poverty targets originally set by the UK Labour Government in 2010 and scrapped by the UK Conservative Government. A Delivery Plan will be developed with all our partners – and crucially, with people with experience of poverty – focusing on how we can deliver and advance equality for all. We will also learn from the valuable work many local authorities are already doing to tackle poverty and inequality. We will listen to any ideas proposed and consider all options, to make sure we meet this commitment. Other actions in this Plan will help with our ambition to eradicate child poverty. We will introduce a new socio-economic duty on public authorities (Action 1), set up a new poverty and inequality commission (Action 3), and make sure that people with experience of living in poverty have greater opportunities to influence national and local policy going forward (a range of actions in the plan). 46/47 MAXIMISING FAMILY INCOMES Our focus on income targets reflects the fact that providing low income families with a range of financial support is crucial for children’s long term prospects. We will put more money into these families’ pockets by the end of this parliament, providing parents with basic necessities, financial support, and affordable childcare. 27 As part of our support for families with children in the early years, we will introduce a Scottish Baby Box in 2017 to help reduce the costs of providing for a child in the early days and weeks of life that some families may find challenging. The Box will be a universal entitlement, and will contain essential items such as bedding, clothing and books. We hope that the Box will come to be seen as an iconic celebration of childhood, sending a 28 signal about the importance of parenting. We will create a new Best Start Grant (BSG) minimise the impact of UK Government welfare to bring together the system for Healthy Start cuts on children’s health and wellbeing. The Best food vouchers and the UK Sure Start Maternity Start Grant will pay £600 on the birth of a first Grant (SSMG) when powers transfer to Scottish child, £300 for second and subsequent children Ministers, as part of our focus on reducing and will make additional payments of £250 around inequalities in early years, and subject to the the time that children start nursery and school, outcome of the consultation on the Future of providing greater support for families through Social Security in Scotland. This will simplify early years. Healthy Start will help families access and improve the service for parents and carers affordable, nutritious food. We will promote this by streamlining the application process, providing scheme for parents and carers to improve the more joined up support. It will also make it clearer current take up of the grants, meaning that more what families are entitled to from pregnancy families receive the support they are entitled to through to children starting school, ensuring we and children are given the best start in life. Fairer Scotland Action Plan “ On behalf of the Dundee Partnership, I pledge that all the recommendations of the Dundee Fairness Commission will be taken forward. This will include funding for a new organisation for the city, modelled on the Poverty Truth Commission, to make sure that the voices and experiences of people struggling against poverty in Dundee continue to be heard. Jointly funded with the Scottish Government, this new organisation will inform future efforts to tackle and reduce the causes and impact of poverty in the city. We will also commission joint work with the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) Scotland to facilitate a Cost of the School Day initiative during the 2016/17 school year. CPAG will work with pupils, parents and teachers to identify and remove key cost barriers so that all children and young people from low income households can fully engage in their education.” Cllr Jimmy Black, Chair of the Dundee Fairness Commission Read the full pledge on p80 48/49 29 By 2020, entitlement to free early learning and childcare (ELC) will almost double for all 3 and 4 year olds, as well as those 2 year olds that stand to benefit most, to 1140 hours per year (from current levels of 600 hours per year). This transformational change in ELC provision – with substantial infrastructure investment and the creation of up to 20,000 new employment opportunities – will give our children the highest quality start to their learning journey. ELC is critical to our inclusive growth ambition, as not only is it important for improving children’s outcomes, it will support a more inclusive workforce by reducing the burden parents face in paying for childcare, in particular enabling greater female participation in the workforce. We will also develop new and innovative models of delivery: From January 2017, a programme of trials, supported by £1 million of Scottish Government investment, will be taken forward to help inform the development of new delivery models. The trials will allow us to test what works, where and why, and to assist in the dissemination of best practice across ELC providers. In 2017-18, we will pilot approaches, in locations throughout Scotland, to reducing upfront childcare costs. We are concerned that these upfront costs – such as initial deposits, administration fees, or paying the first month’s fee in advance – may be a real barrier for some parents or carers in low income households who want to start or return to work, or increase their hours, after a period of caring for young children. As part of the pilots we will focus on the initial deposit that often has to be paid to secure a childcare place. One potential approach that will be explored is a deposit guarantee scheme. Fairer Scotland Action Plan 30 We will take action to reduce the costs of school for low income parents. The Scottish Government already provides money to local authorities to help low income parents afford basic costs associated with school. We want to support schools in their efforts to identify and remove any barriers to children having the same opportunities regardless of their background. Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) have been working with schools, parents and children in Glasgow to do this and we now want to explore how we can spread the learning from it across Scotland. 31 From April 2017, our proposed reforms will make the current Council Tax system fairer for low income families. Subject to parliamentary approval, there will be a 25% increase of child allowance within the Council Tax Reduction Scheme which will provide additional support to families on low incomes across all council tax bands. This will benefit up to 77,000 low income families by an average of £173 per year, supporting up to 140,000 children. The additional £500 million revenue generated over the next parliamentary term from all reforms to council tax will be invested in schools to improve education locally. 50/51 HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL We will ensure high quality prospects for all, with a particular focus on children in deprived areas from when they first start nursery. We will tackle the educational attainment gap – our top priority in government. And we will take further action to tackle bullying. 32 By 2018, we will ensure that every nursery in our most deprived areas has an additional qualified teacher or childcare graduate. International evidence tells us that increasing the amount of time that children from disadvantaged backgrounds spend with graduate practitioners can help narrow the attainment gap and improve outcomes. Fairer Scotland Action Plan 33 We are committed to making real progress in closing the attainment gap during the lifetime of this Parliament and to eliminate it, as far as we can, over the next decade. Closing the attainment gap requires the full efforts of all those involved in education and a focus on early intervention – from supporting children and parents, to early learning, through school and in our colleges, universities and beyond. We will test innovative models of third sector involvement in raising attainment through a share of a £2 million Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention project fund. However, our efforts must go beyond the classroom and across our communities, third sector and wider public service if we are to succeed in our ambition. To support this, we will increase investment in the Scottish Attainment Fund to £750 million over the course of this parliament with more money allocated directly to headteachers. Over 300 schools across Scotland – with high concentrations of children living in poverty – are currently benefitting from the Attainment Scotland Fund. However, we recognise that children are living in poverty beyond these specified areas and so will allocate £100 million per annum to schools based on the numbers of children eligible for Free School Meals, to provide support to these children wherever they live. 52/53 34 We will do more to address bullying in schools – including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying. We will launch a refreshed National Approach to Anti-Bullying for Scotland’s Children and Young People. This review ties into broader work to foster good relationships and positive behaviour within the learning environment, which underpins Curriculum for Excellence. We already provide funding to support third sector initiatives against bullying. For example: We fully fund respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service. We have provided funding to LGBT Youth Scotland and respectme to produce resources and deliver training to improve the knowledge, confidence and skills of 35 teachers and other staff in dealing with HBT bullying. We support Childline, which offers confidential advice and information to children and young people affected by bullying and any other issues. We will provide additional funding, where needed, to make sure that all promoted teachers – and eventually all teachers – undertake training on equality, so they are confident in We will tackle poverty addressing prejudice-based bullying – for example, because directly for some of our of perceived sexual orientation or gender identity issues. most vulnerable children by delivering parity of child In addition, in 2014 we published guidance that clearly allowances between kinship states how important it is that Relationships, Sexual Health and foster carers. We will and Parenthood education addresses diversity and reflects continue to implement the deal issues relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and between Scottish Government intersex young people or children with LGBTI parents, and COSLA agreed in October such as same sex marriage and hate-crime reporting. 2015. This provides additional We expect these actions together to have a powerful funding of £10.1 million a year impact on bullying, but we will monitor the situation across to improve allowances paid to Scotland so we can take further action as needed. kinship carers to ensure each child receives comparable financial support to a child in foster care. We will also end the variation between local areas by introducing a single national scheme of allowances. A STRONG START FOR ALL YOUNG PEOPLE As many young people told us during the Fairer Scotland conversations, today’s generation faces enormous challenges. A range of social security support has been withdrawn over recent years. Young people are not covered by key improvements to the National Minimum Wage. And a lack of social mobility remains a major problem. We are already investing heavily to support young people – for example, enhancing the Educational Maintenance Allowance and protecting the right to free university tuition. But we heard you loud and clear: we must do more, and we will do more. Here are a range of key actions that the Scottish Government will take over this parliamentary term. 54/55 Fairer Scotland Action Plan SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE The right skills and experiences in training and the workplace are key to a strong start. We will invest in supporting young people to build high quality careers, focusing on both the vocational and the higher education routes. 36 We will take action to reduce youth unemployment by 40% by

2021. This is the headline target of Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), our 7 year reform programme and we are already making progress – youth unemployment has decreased by 9,000 from our baseline figure of 52,000 in January to March 2014. To keep on track, we will increase the provision and uptake of vocational qualifications, a DYW priority which will help deliver work-based options in the senior phase. Key to our success is encouraging secondary schools and colleges to develop high quality and productive partnerships with employers, delivering a connected and labour market relevant offer for young people. We will also do more to promote the uptake of new opportunities so that more young people can benefit from the increased range of options on offer in the senior phase. We will significantly increase the numbers 37 industry-recognised qualification, work on real of young people getting industry experience projects and broaden their career options for when while still at school to help them kick-start a they leave school. Employers get the opportunity successful career in their chosen field. to attract highly motivated and committed young An important strand of the DYW programme sees people who are right for their business, ensuring Skills Development Scotland (SDS) working with they have the skills they need. Seventy-two pupils partners to deliver Foundation Apprenticeships enrolled in Foundation Apprenticeships in 2014/15. (FA), work-based learning opportunities for pupils In 2015/16, this increased to over 300 pupils and in S4 and S5. The qualification takes two years in 2016/17 there will be over 1,000 pupils recruited to complete and is linked to one of six key sectors across all local authority areas in Scotland. of the Scottish economy. Young people gain an We will increase this further in future years. 05/06 56/57 “ YouthLink Scotland pledge to support the Scottish Government’s aims of ensuring ‘A Fairer Scotland for All’ and ‘A Strong Start for All Young People’. We will do this by continuing to support the significant contribution that youth work makes to equality and the realisation of young people’s human rights. More specifically, in the coming year we will: – Work in partnership with Education Scotland, to provide training to the youth work sector on the use of the ‘Recognising and Realising Children’s Rights Toolkit’. The toolkit supports the development of human rights based policy and practice. – Provide support to the newly established Scottish Equalities in Youth Work Steering Group in their role to highlight and develop the contribution of youth work to equality, diversity and human rights – Work in partnership with Zero Tolerance to roll out the ‘Under Pressure’ (Preventing Teen Abuse) training programme to the youth sector. – Work in collaboration with the youth work sector and young people from across Scotland to research and promote the contribution of youth work to gender equality. Jim Sweeney, Youth Link Scotland Read the full pledge on p89 Fairer Scotland Action Plan RESEARCH ACTION We will carry out a comprehensive review of life chances of older children and young adults, with particular emphasis on young people from poorer backgrounds. This was one of the key recommendations of the Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality. While huge progress has been made on understanding the needs of very young children, the evidence base on the needs of adolescents and young adults needs further development as does a clear sense of which interventions are most effective for this group. A review of evidence will be essential to shape future policy on this critical stage of transition from childhood to adulthood. 38 We will take action to widen access to university: our ambition is that any child born today should have an equal chance of entering university, no matter what their socio-economic background is. To achieve this, we are committed to implementing in full the recommendations from the Commission on Widening Access.11 These include implementing national and institutional targets, introducing a full bursary for young people who have grown up in care, and appointing a Commissioner for Fair Access to take the lead on these issues and make sure we deliver. And we will, of course, keep university tuition free. 11 www.commissiononwideningaccess.co.uk 58/59 05/06 “ The Prince’s Trust Scotland pledges to expand Mosaic, our new mentoring programme for BME young people who are growing up in the most deprived communities. Working with schools, we will link young people up with inspirational mentors who will act as role models. This will support young people to boost their confidence, aspirations and long-term employability skills.” Prince’s Trust Scotland Read the full pledge on p86 Fairer Scotland Action Plan FINANCIAL HELP AND OTHER SUPPORT FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT In addition to supporting young people with training and skills, we will provide a range of financial help for young people. 39 We will introduce a Job Grant for young people aged 16- 24 who have been out of work for six months or more. The grant is worth £250 for those with children and £100 for those without. We plan to supplement this cash payment with free bus travel for a three month period. In addition, we will 40 provide free bus travel for modern apprentices under 21. We will ensure that support for housing costs is not taken away from young people aged 18-21. Having a sound, secure and affordable place to live is fundamental to enabling young people to realise their potential. The UK Government has said that automatic entitlement to housing benefit will be removed from 18-21 year olds as part of the £12 billion reduction in welfare spending over the period of this UK Parliament. Once the UK policy is announced, our response will ensure that the interests of young people aged 18-21 are protected. 41 Transport Scotland is working with Young Scot to make the National Entitlement Card smart ready for 11-25 year olds. This in turn should help with equity of access to public services such as transport. 05/06 60/61 “ We pledge to use the Young Scot National Entitlement Card and its built-in smart-technology to connect young people to services and opportunities. There are already over 650,000 Young Scot cardholders in Scotland. We know that when we empower young people and give them access to opportunities – in transport, leisure, libraries, training or employability – great things happen. The smart-tech card will help Young Scot tackle inequality directly, making sure that no-one is stigmatised in the process, and supporting those young people in the greatest need.” Ryan McDonagh, Finlay Taylor, Shannon Goundry, Young Scot (From left to right) Read the full pledge on p88 FAIRER WORKING LIVES Fair work was a strong focus in the Fairer Scotland conversations. A decent standard of living – having a job that treated people fairly and paid a living wage – was a key theme. Support for flexible jobs and flexible working was also seen as vital, as was an end to discrimination – for example, on the grounds of disability or pregnancy and maternity – and active support for people who need help to get back into the labour market or to boost their work prospects and progress. We need to make the most of the talent and energy of all Scotland’s people to create a stronger, more inclusive economy for the benefit of everyone. In August, we published a Labour Market Strategy (see page 64), with a range of actions the Scottish Government will take to help make working lives fairer, including our continued support for the Fair Work Convention. Below we focus on actions around the Living Wage, promoting good flexible working, employability and tackling discrimination in employment. 62/63 Fairer Scotland Action Plan DECENT PAY In-work poverty is an increasing concern. In 2014-15, two thirds of children in poverty were living in families where someone was working. The UK National Living Wage is welcome, but is set at a lower rate than the real Living Wage and doesn’t 42 cover all employees, with those under 25 not protected. We will do more to promote the Living Wage. Decent wages for all are vital if we are to tackle in-work poverty and, as a reflection of that, all public bodies in Scotland now pay the Living Wage. To move forward across the labour market, we have set a new target of 1,000 Accredited Living Wage employers by autumn 2017 and have increased funding for the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative to £300,000 to achieve this. We are also now targeting larger employers to maximise the value of our investment. NEW LABOUR MARKET STRATEGY In August, the Scottish Government published a Labour Market Strategy, which sets out how we will boost economic growth in a way that shares the benefits of our economic success. Our focus is on jobs – more jobs; better quality jobs; jobs that work for every business in terms of innovation, competiveness, productivity and sustainable growth; and jobs that work for every individual in terms of skills, pay, security, and prospects. Our workforce is one of Scotland’s strongest assets but it is not simply a commodity to be deployed, it’s an asset to be invested in, developed and supported. We will work with businesses to address the challenges of the vote in the EU Referendum, and demographic and technological change. We will support businesses to grow and to help their workforces share in their success. 64/65 05/06 “ Inclusion Scotland pledges to seize every opportunity to ensure that disabled people are fully included in the delivery and future development of all aspects of the Fairer Scotland Action Plan. We will work to promote disabled people’s human rights, access to independent living and equal citizenship. Through our Access to Elected Office Fund for Scotland and Access to Politics project we will help to address the under-representation of disabled people in politics and public life.” Dr Sally Witcher OBE, Chief Executive Officer Inclusion Scotland Read the full pledge on p81 Fairer Scotland Action Plan FLEXIBLE WORKING Flexibility in employment needs to benefit employees as well as employers – parents and carers often want to work part-time or to job share but can find it difficult to find working arrangements that suit them. Good flexible working arrangements can benefit employers 43 – and all of us as employees in our working lives. We will do more to help people in Scotland work flexibly. We will ensure that the Scottish Government’s of quality jobs advertised as open to flexibility own approach to flexible working in recruitment, by city/region, by role, type and sector and by promotion and ‘managed moves’ is a model salary band. The Index will also identify the for the rest of the public sector. We will also level of demand for flexibility in Scotland and the encourage the wider take-up of the ‘Happy to proportion of people who need to work flexibly, Talk’ strapline on job adverts, moving to an and who could raise their living standards assumption of ‘flexible by default’ and asking by doing so. We will use the Index as a key managers to justify advertising a role non-flexibly. step to promoting flexi-recruitment and other good working practices in the private sector. By the end of 2016, we will commission a Flexible Jobs Index for Scotland to determine In 2017, we will pilot mentoring on flexi- the availability of genuinely flexible jobs that recruitment issues for small and medium meet the needs of people who want to work sized enterprises (SMEs), building on existing flexibly. Evidence suggests that many parents support services. The recently published (and others) who want to return to work, work Small Business Survey12 suggests that there more hours, and progress their careers are is considerable scope for improvements in looking for flexible jobs but that these are hard the flexible working offer SMEs make to their to find. Evidence also suggests that a focus employees: over 40% of firms offered none on flexible job design is vital for tackling the of the key flexible working arrangements to gender pay gap. However, the landscape in their staff. We will also further develop our Scotland and the wider UK requires significant network of Family Friendly Working Champions development to maximise these benefits, and explore how advice on developing flexi particularly for staff on low incomes. A Flexible working could be made available via the Jobs Index would be a first step and we will Mygov.scot webpages relevant to businesses. fund Timewise, a social enterprise, to deliver this. The Index will analyse the current ratio 12 www.gov.scot/Topics/Economy/ASBS/Report2015 05/06 66/67 “ Timewise and Family Friendly Working Scotland, a partnership including the Scottish Government, will work together to maximise the potential for flexible working in Scotland. Timewise will produce the first ever Flexible Jobs Index for Scotland – to analyse the current ratio of quality jobs advertised as open to flexible or part time working at the point of hire, and identify the proportion of people who need to work flexibly, and who could raise their living standards by doing so. We will use the findings from the index to build a case for change to support both the Scottish Government and employers to design and advertise quality jobs as ‘open to flexible working options’ at the point of hire. Family Friendly Working Scotland will also encourage and support employers across Scotland to use the Happy to Talk Flexible Working strapline in job adverts.” Emma Stewart, CEO of Timewise Nikki Slowey, Programme Director, Family Friendly Working Scotland Read the full pledge on p87 Fairer Scotland Action Plan 05/06 “ Working Families is proud to be a partner in the Family Friendly Working Scotland programme. We pledge to help the Scottish Government build a fairer Scotland by sharing our experience of working with and supporting SMEs to introduce flexible working. We will advise on mentoring which we have carried out in Wales, and share the toolkit and guidance on job design and flexible hiring which we are developing with Welsh SMEs. We will also make available to SMEs in Scotland the Working Families SME online benchmark, so that owner-managers can assess the culture and practice of their own businesses and understand the changes they can make for more effective and fairer employment.” Sarah Jackson OBE, CEO Working Families Read the full pledge on p88 68/69 EMPLOYABILITY AND DISCRIMINATION We will also look to our new employability programmes to ensure greater opportunity for all in the labour market, and we will tackle discrimination wherever we find it. The Fairer Scotland conversations included calls for further inclusion of disabled people across all areas of society, particularly with respect to finding employment and in skills attainment across education. 44 We will improve employment services for disabled people. Using new and existing powers to provide more effective and joined up support for disabled people in the labour market is a key priority for the Government. As part of the new Scottish employment service from 2018, there will be a distinct offer for disabled people, including tailored and personalised provision for those for whom work is a reasonable objective. In addition, we will sharpen the focus of our current programmes such as Scotland’s Employer Recruitment Incentive and Community Jobs Scotland to support more young disabled people. We will also use the Scottish Business Pledge and other employer networks to raise awareness of the skills and capacity of the disabled workforce and 45 their positive impact on company productivity and profitability. By the end of 2016, we will launch a pilot ‘Returners’ project to help bring experienced women back into the workplace after a career break. Evidence suggests that many women struggle to return to work due to a lack of access to flexible working that enables them support for care commitments. As a result they can find their job choices limited and can experience pay inequality, underemployment, job insecurity, a lack of opportunities for development and career progression, and both implicit and explicit age discrimination. They can also feel a loss of confidence and relevant skills after being out of the workforce, especially in sectors where technology has moved on at a rapid pace. The Scottish Government will work with employers across the country to pilot a ‘Returners’ project which will help women update skills and knowledge and smooth the transition back into the workplace for both women and employers. Fairer Scotland Action Plan 46 We will tackle discrimination on pregnancy and Third, we will abolish fees for employment maternity leave in the workplace. Up to 54,000 tribunals, once we are clear on how the transfer women across Great Britain experience some form of powers and responsibilities will work. The of pregnancy and maternity discrimination every Scottish Government strongly opposed the year. Many women report having been dismissed or introduction of employment tribunal fees on the made compulsorily redundant where others in their basis that it restricts access to justice and creates workplaces were not, or treated so poorly they felt a financial barrier for legitimate claims. Since they had to leave their jobs. We will take a range fees were introduced we have seen a dramatic of action to address this in Scotland as follows: decrease in the number of cases being taken forward. Ministry of Justice statistics released in First, a new working group, chaired by the September 2016 show a two thirds reduction in Minister for Training and Skills, will create single claims in the first half of 2016 compared guidance to encourage best employment to the same period in 2013. We will remove this practice and to help with effective monitoring barrier and ensure those who have been unfairly and reporting on employment-related treated due to their pregnancy or maternity – and pregnancy and maternity issues. The group all those who have received wider discrimination will be supported by the Equality and Human or unfair treatment – can seek redress. Rights Commission and will meet quarterly. Second, we will include best practice in managing pregnancy and maternity issues appropriately within the Scottish Business Pledge. 05/06 70/71 “ Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland pledges to help the Scottish Government support innovative approaches to tackling poverty and deprivation. As well as continuing to be a thoughtful grant-maker, we will work differently to reach the communities that historically have accessed very little charitable funding. We will enable a shift in the balance of power so that people are in the driving seat, taking decisions and having more control of their own lives, with the Foundation and our partners listening, supporting and enabling changes that may seem small, but which collectively will help build lasting social change.” Fiona Duncan, Chief Executive, Lloyds TSB Foundation Scotland – At the heart of funding Scotland’s charities Read the full pledge on p83 A THRIVING THIRD AGE We are committed to ensuring that, wherever possible, older people can enjoy a thriving ‘third age’. This means supporting people who want to keep on working. And it means maximising incomes and reducing costs where possible. In 2014/15, despite improvements over time, 120,000 people of pensionable age were still living in poverty in Scotland: this is particularly important because older people can find it harder than those of working age to increase their incomes. There is a lot we can do to address these issues. We will take a number of actions to maximise older people’s incomes to ensure they can enjoy a decent and fulfilling ‘third age’. 72/73 Fairer Scotland Action Plan 47 We will help those older people who want to end up working in lower skilled jobs to balance keep working after they have reached state work and caring responsibilities. We will therefore pension age. The number of workers over state ensure that older workers’ needs are considered pension age has increased consistently over the in the development of new employment services, past decade, particularly since the 2011 legislation some of which will be devolved to Scotland from to abolish the default retirement age. As part of April 2017. Particular support requirements might our commitment to a thriving third age, we want include retraining and confidence building, as to make sure that older workers are supported well as increased support for flexible working. All to keep developing and improving their skills. programmes will be fully person-centred, with But we are concerned that some older people, support plans being tailored to individual needs. women in particular, may feel they have to work because of low pension incomes and/or that they RESEARCH ACTION – OLDER PEOPLE AND EMPLOYMENT In June 2016, we published initial research on older people and employment, which looked at the drivers behind the substantial increase in the numbers working past state pension age over the past decade.13 As this showed, more can be done to support those older people who are already working or who want to work but find it difficult to do so. To help us move forward, a second stage of research will be undertaken with older people themselves. This will explore the key issues and concerns of older people who work or actively seek employment, aiming to identify interventions to help reduce the barriers they face. 13 www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/06/8819 74/75 48 We will help older people claim the financial support they are entitled to. If every person eligible for Pension Credit and Council Tax Reduction received these entitlements, poverty levels amongst older people would be lower. So we will fund a Financial Health Check service with an older people strand: the health check will offer a personalised service to maximise incomes for older people in retirement this will help those already in receipt of the State Pension, but also those approaching pension age in Scotland. We will also seek advice from the devolved government in Northern Ireland, which has had some success in boosting Pension Credit uptake, and from our partners across Scotland about the best way to maximise benefit take up for older people. NEW SOCIAL ISOLATION AND LONELINESS APPROACH In 2017, we will develop a new approach to social isolation and loneliness. These issues can affect people of all ages but, as the Fairer Scotland conversations noted, can be particularly challenging for older people. A report from the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee identified a range of concerns that we are determined to address. The Scottish Government and its partners have many programmes and funding streams which are in place to address social isolation and loneliness. But these all need to be coordinated better, and we will take action, informed by the best available evidence, via a new strategic approach. Fairer Scotland Action Plan 49 Our planned reforms to council tax will protect older people on low incomes. While three quarters of Scottish households that live in bands A to D will be unaffected by planned reforms to council tax band system, those in bands E to H will pay more. However, up to 54,000 households living in bands E to H on low incomes will be entitled to an exemption from the changes through REFRESHED AGE, HOME AND the Council Tax Reduction Scheme – more than COMMUNITY STRATEGY one third of these are pensioner households. We will refresh our Age, Home and Community Strategy to take account of changing need, demographics and help address issues of isolation as well as improving access to suitable housing for older people. We will ensure there is flexibility in the housing grant subsidy arrangements within the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, so that social landlords are supported to build specialist housing in accordance with need. We will improve the current system of Funeral 50 Improving the system of Funeral Payments will Payments, so it helps more people, is more help reassure the many older people who worry predictable and provides help more quickly. about the cost of funerals. We are also taking Funeral costs, which are currently rising above forward a range of other activity to help people inflation, are a key concern for many older people plan ahead and address rising costs, including on low incomes, as well as for those younger publishing a Funeral Costs Plan. To inform this, people who are responsible for paying for a funeral. we will be hosting round-table events and a Funeral Payments help those on qualifying low national conference on funeral poverty. In the income benefits pay for a funeral and reduce longer term, we will consider plans for a Funeral the need to borrow money using credit cards, Bond to help people plan ahead for their funeral. high cost loans or other more informal routes. 76/77 IT TAKES ALL OF US TO BUILD A FAIRER SCOTLAND. CAN YOU HELP? TELL US ABOUT YOUR PLEDGE, USING THESE CONTACT DETAILS: fairer.scot @scotgovfairer fairer.scot @ fairer@gov.scot ANNEX A Fairer Scotland Pledges In Full 78/79 Fairer Scotland Action Plan CARNEGIE UK TRUST DUNDEE PARTNERSHIP The Carnegie UK Trust pledges to help improve ‘When the Dundee Fairness Commission access to affordable credit in Scotland. Thousands published its recommendations earlier in 2016, of people in Scotland currently borrow money from we hoped that they would be taken seriously. We high cost lenders to meet their everyday needs. were delighted when the Dundee Partnership Reducing the cost of credit by offering people immediately approved all of them and promised viable, attractive, more affordable alternatives to produce a costed, comprehensive and has the potential to save thousands of pounds ambitious action plan before the end of this every year for individuals in Scotland’s poorest year. It will contain a range of positive measures communities. We want to help Scotland’s not-for- including both of the major pledges.’ profit affordable credit providers to grow, to reach many more people, building financial capability and Cllr Jimmy Black, improving wellbeing. We will commit resources and Chair of the Dundee Fairness Commission work in partnership with the Scottish Government, local authorities, affordable credit providers, The voices and experiences of people struggling housing associations, banks and charities to against poverty in Dundee were a powerful achieve this goal. Our vision is that everyone in influence on the work of the Dundee Fairness Scotland, wherever they live, should have access Commission. To enable this important conversation to more affordable credit which reduces the cost to continue and to raise awareness of the real of borrowing, supports financial inclusion and challenges faced by people on the lowest incomes, promotes equality and fairness. the Dundee Partnership will establish a new organisation for the city, modelled on the Poverty Angus Hogg, Truth Commission. Jointly funded with the Scottish Chair of the Carnegie Uk Trust Government, this new body will make sure that the voices and experiences of people struggling against poverty in Dundee continue to be heard to inform future efforts to tackle and reduce the causes and impact of poverty in the city. While Dundee City Council has recently raised the value of school uniform grants by up to 80%, parents and children can still face hidden, additional costs associated with attending school. These may well be unintentional but they can often be unaffordable and stigmatizing. The Dundee Partnership will commission the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland to facilitate a Cost of the School Day initiative during the 2016/17 school year. This will work with pupils, parents and teachers to identify and remove cost barriers and take action to reduce or remove stigma, exclusion or disadvantage so that all children and young people from low income households can fully engage in their education. 80/81 INCLUSION SCOTLAND Disabled people are among the very poorest In short, every single one of the 50 actions people in Scotland. We have borne the brunt of identified in the Fairer Scotland Action Plan welfare cuts with over half of all those made by the touches on the lives of disabled people. While the last Government falling on disabled people and forthcoming Disability Action Plan is expected to their families. Many of us do not get anything like set out specific initiatives for disabled people, it the social care support we need. According to the is vital that disabled people’s views and interests latest research, almost a half of all those living in are mainstreamed throughout all action to poverty live with disabled people or are disabled promote equality and inclusion if that action itself people themselves. Families with disabled children is to be equally inclusive. Disabled people have are particularly likely to experience child poverty. much to contribute to their communities and the Our employment rate is persistently around about economy. Yet, we are prevented by barriers like a half that experienced by non-disabled people. negative attitudes, and inaccessible premises, Young disabled people are more likely than communication methods, transport, services, their non-disabled peers not to be in education, housing, events, employment practices and so employment or training. Although disabled people on. Inclusion Scotland will work to remove – and make up 11.6% of all 16-24 year olds, in 2015/16 support others to remove – such barriers to only 3.9% of Modern Apprenticeships went to disabled people’s equality and inclusion. Only disabled people – and that’s an improvement then can action to create a fairer Scotland be on the shockingly low 0.4% of places in equally inclusive. And only then can the goal of 2014/15. Disabled people too often experience a more equal and inclusive fairer Scotland hope discrimination, social isolation and negative to be achieved. attitudes, including hate crime. Such experiences may be particularly acute for certain groups, such as disabled people with other protected Dr Sally Witcher OBE, characteristics or those in segregated settings. Chief Executive Officer Meanwhile, disabled people are significantly Inclusion Scotland under-represented in politics and public life. We make up one in five of Scotland’s population, yet only one of the new intake of 129 MSPs has identified as a disabled person. Fairer Scotland Action Plan JOSEPH ROWNTREE FOUNDATION Scotland should be a country where, no matter Many actions will involve changes in culture, where you live, everyone has the chance of a addressing stigma and a shift in spending over time decent and secure life. Instead, the shameful to deal more robustly with the causes of poverty. reality sees almost a million Scots – mostly in JRF has committed £15m to social investment, working families – struggling to meet their needs. to support projects across the UK that address the Poverty is real: it is costly, risky and wasteful but root causes of poverty. In addition to our ongoing not inevitable. JRF’s strategy to solve poverty research programme, we are supporting: sets a vision for 2030, in common with the Fairer Scotland Action Plan. Glasgow Together, a Community Interest Company (CIC) that creates full-time, Living The causes of poverty in modern Scotland are Wage jobs for ex-offenders in construction, many and, just as the Fairer Scotland Action as well as meaningful work experience for Plan envisages, the contribution of many will be current offenders in prison environment. JRF in needed: the Scottish Government, as well as the alliance with other trusts and foundations raised UK Government and local authorities, employers in £2m to fund the setup of Glasgow Together. all sectors, housing providers, public and voluntary http://glasgowtogether.co.uk/purpose services, market providers of key goods, citizens Partnership with Big Society Capital to raise and communities. We believe action to solve £20m to invest in organisations which tackle poverty must seek to: the poverty premium in key goods and services – like Fair For You, a not-for-profit company Boost incomes and reduce costs enabling households to buy white goods and Deliver an effective system of social security furniture more affordably than costly rent-to-buy and employment support providers: https://www.fairforyou.co.uk/ Improve education and raise skills Existing and new organisations based on the Strengthen families and communities; and Poverty Truth Commission model, a commitment we share with the Fairer Scotland Action Plan Promote long-term inclusive growth and will pursue with the Scottish Government where we can. This will enable people with experience of poverty to share their ideas with civic leaders, in order to develop better solutions to poverty. The next phase of the Building Connections demonstration project in North and East Glasgow, in partnership with Glasgow Centre for Population Health and What Works Scotland. It takes a co-location approach to advice on housing, childcare and debt delivered in GP surgeries and Job Centres, to reduce people being passed from pillar to post. A three-year Place-Based philanthropy programme of Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, taking a local assets-based approach in areas including East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. Jim McCormick, Associate Director Scotland 82/83 LLOYDS TSB FOUNDATION SCOTLAND Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland (the Foundation) pledges to help the Scottish Government support innovative approaches to tackling poverty and deprivation. We know that there are areas of Scotland where people face multiple, complex challenges; many have borne the brunt of welfare reforms and increasing pressure on public expenditure. Through our work, we see the everyday impact of a whole range of issues including poverty, drug and alcohol misuse and social isolation. These undermine people’s opportunities, aspirations and hope and rob our society of their potential contribution. As well as continuing to be a thoughtful grant- maker, we will work differently to reach the communities that historically have accessed very little charitable funding. We will listen to people, support them to come together to share ideas about how their community could be a better place in which to live or work, enabling them to make changes that may seem small, but which collectively will help to build lasting social change. Making a difference will take much more than simply redirecting cash; it will rely on a shift in the balance of power so that the people of Scotland are in the driving seat, taking decisions and having more control of their own lives. Fiona Duncan, Chief Executive Lloyds TSB Foundation Scotland – At the heart of funding Scotland’s charities Fairer Scotland Action Plan NHS HEALTH SCOTLAND I pledge to help the Scottish Government in its By March 2018, work in partnership with NHS ambition to end child poverty in Scotland. Boards to develop national referral pathways between NHS services and local advice services The challenge is significant as more than 1 in 5 to maximise the incomes of patients. children in Scotland are living in poverty and two- thirds of children in poverty also live in families By March 2018, promote the importance and where someone is working. As a national health adoption of routine enquiry about money worries board, NHS Health Scotland, have a clear public (and referral to advice services) by NHS staff to health role in improving health outcomes for help patients maximise their incomes. families and children living in poverty. We will work with public, private and third sectors to reduce We will also work with the Scottish Government health inequalities and improve health and pledge to explore how we can develop, via their to make ending child poverty one of our priorities. commissioning and funding criteria of advice in Scotland, the co-location of advice services We will work to ensure that evidence of what works in NHS settings i.e. in places and services that is used quickly and consistently to help reduce people already use. and mitigate the impact of poverty on health. We will provide practical evaluation support and staff Given the significant challenge of child poverty in development programmes. Scotland we will lead on developing partnerships, particularly with the NHS, to help shift the focus We will provide advice to the Ministerial Advisory to interventions that can have the most impact on Group on Child Poverty and specifically we will: reducing child poverty. By September 2017, develop and deliver training Gerald McLaughlin, resources and events in partnership with the Chief Executive, NHS Health Scotland. Poverty Alliance and others to raise awareness of poverty and its impact on health and wellbeing amongst public services staff. By March 2017, produce an e-learning module on child poverty, health and wellbeing for undergraduate and continuing professional development programmes and agree development of further training and education for other factors causing adversity in childhood. 84/85 THE POVERTY TRUTH COMMISSION The Poverty Truth Commission (PTC) pledges to work to ensure that people experiencing poverty are at the heart of work to overcome it. From experience we know that when people living in poverty are included, change happens – and we want to continue and grow this work. So we will launch a 4th round of the PTC in January 2017, bringing together people experiencing poverty and key decision makers in Scottish society for an 18 month period. We will aim in this process to listen to the voices of some of the poorest in our society, not just the easiest to reach. As a specific commitment for this plan, we pledge to offer advice to the Scottish Government on how new community groups, which follow the PTC model, can be best set up in three local areas of Scotland. We will run a 3rd Mutual Mentoring Scheme in autumn 2016 between civil servants and people living with poverty – sharing expertise with each other and breaking down any perceived barriers between the two groups. We will continue to engage with other organisations who are looking to work in a more participative way and trying to involve people experiencing poverty directly in their work. We will explore further with our Commissioners and others what our motto ‘Nothing about us, without us, is for us’ can really mean in practice. Elaine Downie, Poverty Truth Commission Fairer Scotland Action Plan THE PRINCE’S TRUST SCOTLAND The Prince’s Trust Scotland pledges to We are committed boosting the life aspirations of support 150,000 vulnerable young people young people and closing the growing attainment by 2030 to overcome significant barriers gap. We will do this delivering our new and have increased access to education, education programme, Achieve. Aimed at those training and employment opportunities. disengaged in school, it will equip young people Our key programmes include the following. with the confidence, skills and a qualification to re-engage in education, training or employment. We will roll out the delivery of our new Mosaic mentoring programme creating opportunities In 2016, the Achieve programme will work in for young people from black and ethnic partnership with 150 schools, and we plan minorities who are growing up in our most to expand into over 50% of all secondary deprived communities. Our vision is for all schools across Scotland by 2018. It will also young people to be supported to realise be delivered in Prince’s Trust Centres reaching their potential. With the help of 38 volunteer those no longer in formal education. mentors acting as role models through our structured programmes, we aim to bridge the Our research highlights that nearly half young aspirations-attainment gap. By linking young people from poorer backgrounds receive no people with inspirational role models in this support when looking for jobs and rarely get way, we will boost their confidence, self-efficacy help with their homework. We are committed and long-term employability. In 2016, we will to being that alternative support network work across four high schools in Glasgow, for those young people who do not have with an aim of supporting 120 young people. the right support at home or in school. We will launch two programmes this year: We will develop new digital learning tools to ensure young people who can’t access our Group mentoring for secondary school pupils, services, such as young carers, those based with enhanced World of Work visits and in remote locations, or have poor access presentations by inspirational speakers. to public transport, can access our help to boost their training and employability skills. Enterprise Challenge, a national school competition to promote entrepreneurship. 86/87 TIMEWISE & FAMILY FRIENDLY WORKING SCOTLAND VIRGIN MONEY Timewise and Family Friendly Working Scotland, The publication of the Scottish Government’s a partnership including the Scottish Government, ‘Fairer Scotland Action Plan’ is a timely challenge will work together to maximise the potential for to us all to do our bit to make Scotland a fairer flexible working in Scotland. Timewise will produce place in which to live and work. I firmly believe the first ever Flexible Jobs Index for Scotland – to that businesses as well as individuals have a key analyse the current ratio of quality jobs advertised role to play in this movement. as open to flexible or part time working at the point of hire, and identify the proportion of people who For our part, at Virgin Money we are building need to work flexibly, and who could raise their a bank that aims to treat our customers and living standards by doing so. employees fairly. This includes people who may not have had easy access to the banking system or We will use the findings from the Index to build have struggled to get a job or a promotion at work, a case for change to support both the Scottish perhaps because of their background or gender. Government and employers to design and advertise quality jobs as ‘open to flexible I am committed to make banking fairer and more working options’ at the point of hire. accessible. That’s why we recently launched our basic bank account, the Essential Current Account, Family Friendly Working Scotland will also a fair and simple product that can help those who encourage and support employers across are finding it difficult to get a bank account. We Scotland to use the Happy to Talk Flexible are currently working with Scotcash to make basic Working strapline in job adverts. bank accounts more readily available to people in the Glasgow area. Emma Stewart, CEO Timewise It’s also why I was pleased to lead the UK Government-backed ‘Women in Finance Review’ Nikki Slowey, earlier this year and make a pledge to promote Programme Director, gender diversity. We have made some challenging Family Friendly Working Scotland recommendations to the industry that I hope will make it easier for women to achieve their full potential in the financial sector and overcome some of the barriers that can hold them back. There is much more to do, but I fully support the Scottish Government for taking this positive step forward. Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO Virgin Money plc Fairer Scotland Action Plan WORKING FAMILIES YOUNG SCOT Working Families is proud to be a partner in the Young Scot is collaborating with cross-sector Family Friendly Working Scotland programme. partners to support and empower young We pledge to help the Scottish Government build people to build a fairer Scotland. Our pledge a fairer Scotland by sharing our experience of is that we will use the Young Scot National working with and supporting SMEs to introduce Entitlement Card (NEC) and its embedded flexible working. We will advise on mentoring smart-technology to tackle inequalities through which we have carried out in Wales, and share removing barriers and providing information to the toolkit and guidance on job design and flexible activate and connect young people to services hiring which we are developing with Welsh SMEs. and opportunities locally, nationally and globally. We will also make available to SMEs in Scotland the Working Families SME online benchmark, so Smart-tech is all-too-often considered to be only that owner-managers can assess the culture and for those who can afford it. However, using the practice of their own businesses and understand technology and existing digital public services the changes they can make for more effective and infrastructure which the Young Scot NEC is part of, fairer employment. and working with partners across public services and the third sector, we know it is possible to Sarah Jackson OBE, focus support to those young people in greatest CEO Working Families need or facing significant barriers to services and opportunities. In offering the Young Scot smartcard to all young people aged 11+, regardless of socio- economic circumstances, we can make a powerful and transformative contribution to mitigating inequalities in a non-stigmatising way, as well as contributing to a range of outcomes to support young people to be happy, healthy and able to fulfil their potential as active and informed citizens. There are over 650,000 Young Scot smart-tech cardholders in Scotland and we know that by empowering young people and enabling access to opportunities – whether that be transport, leisure, libraries, training or employability – great things can happen. At Young Scot we believe that young people are not only Scotland’s future, they are making powerful and positive contributions to our communities now – and could do even more. Working together with young people we can coproduce a fairer Scotland together. 88/89 YOUTHLINK YouthLink Scotland pledge to support the Scottish Government’s aims of ensuring ‘A Fairer Scotland for All’ and ‘A Strong Start for All Young People’. We will do this by continuing to support the significant contribution that youth work makes to equality and the realisation of young people’s human rights. More specifically, in the coming year we will: Work in partnership with Education Scotland, to provide training to the youth work sector on the use of the ‘Recognising and Realising Children’s Rights Toolkit’. The toolkit supports the development of human rights based policy and practice. Provide support to the newly established Scottish Equalities in Youth Work Steering Group in their role to highlight and develop the contribution of youth work to equality, diversity and human rights Work in partnership with Zero Tolerance to roll out the ‘Under Pressure’ (Preventing Teen Abuse) training programme to the youth sector. Work in collaboration with the youth work sector and young people from across Scotland to research and promote the contribution of youth work to gender equality. ANNEX B Summary Of Progress Against Independent Advisor Recommendations The Scottish Government said earlier this year that the Fairer Scotland Action Plan would form part of our response to ‘Shifting the Curve’, the report by Naomi Eisenstadt, the Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality. The full set of 15 recommendations is set out here, with progress to date on meeting them. Many responses to these recommendations form part of the Plan. 90/91 Fairer Scotland Action Plan RECOMMENDATION ACTION TAKEN/ PROPOSED

1. Build on Living Wage We will do more to promote the Living Wage. Decent wages for all Accreditation – a focus on are vital if we are to tackle in-work poverty. To move forward, we larger employers, and on have set a new target of 1,000 accredited Living Wage employers by incentives, would be useful Autumn 2017. We have increased funding for the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative to £300,000 to achieve this. We are also now targeting larger employers to maximise the value of our investment.

2. Encourage pay ratio We are already taking action to encourage pay ratio disclosure as disclosure as a way of one way of tackling pay inequality. There are enhanced fair pay tackling pay inequality reporting requirements for annual accounts (via the UK-wide Financial Reporting Manual) and an expectation that public bodies will comply with these for their 2015/16 annual accounts. Public authorities with more than 20 employees now publish their gender pay gap every two years and provide equal pay statements every four. We will extend this legal duty to include disability and race pay gap reporting – from April 2017. We are now exploring how to require further disclosures relating to gender. The Fair Work Framework advocated pay transparency and defensibility as a core organisational objective, working with the Fair Work Convention to look at broad issues around pay, including real wages, pay ratios, and gain-sharing approaches.

3. Ensure childcare commitments We will shortly publish a policy blueprint setting out our vision and principles focus on quality to improve for the delivery of our early learning and childcare commitment by 2020. outcomes, and consider providing a limited number We have committed to ensuring all nurseries in our most deprived areas will of free hours of childcare for benefit from an additional qualified teacher or childcare graduate by 2018. primary school aged children We will commence a programme of early learning and childcare trials from January 2017, supported by £1 million of Scottish Government investment, to test different delivery models for delivering the expansion to 1140 hours. By summer 2017, we will publish good practice design guidance for the building work required for the early learning and childcare expansion. In autumn 2017, we will publish a new induction and professional learning framework for child-minders to deliver best practice in the profession. 92/93 RECOMMENDATION ACTION TAKEN/ PROPOSED

4. Make family flexible working In May 2016, information on family friendly and flexible working more explicit within the (and in particular the Family Friendly Working Scotland Business Pledge, and consider partnership) was added to the ‘Workforce Engagement’ and whether approaches such ‘Balanced Workforce’ sections of the Business Pledge. as the Timewise programme could promote flexible A ‘Scottish Business Pledge: One Year On’ event was held on 2 working in Scotland June 2016, hosted by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work and the Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy. It featured a company which made a commitment to the Business Pledge in June 2015 and won the Small Employer Category of the Scottish Top Employers for Working Families Awards 2016. A joint Scottish Business Pledge/Family Friendly Working Scotland event is planned for National Work Life Week in October 2016.

5. Do more to ensure that We will work with a range of partners to undertake targeted benefit people claim the benefits uptake work to help people claim the benefits they are entitled to. If they are entitled to people claimed all the benefits they were entitled to, they would be better off and poverty rates would be lower. We will therefore work with a range of advice and support services and other stakeholders to better understand the barriers that prevent people from claiming benefits and to address these by raising awareness and better supporting people to take up their full benefit entitlement.

6. Make effective use of new The Scottish Government has already set out a range of steps, policy social security powers but and delivery, that will put dignity and respect back at the heart of proceed with caution our social security system. E.g. increasing Carer’s Allowance to Job Seeker’s Allowance level, abolishing 84 day rule and introducing a new Best Start Grant to replace the Sure Start Maternity Grant. We have also said we will establish a new social security agency to deliver our new devolved benefits. In July 2016, we published a consultation on a Social Security Bill, which will be the foundation for how we use our new powers.

7. Build more social housing We will deliver more affordable homes in this parliament. During the last parliament, we surpassed our 30,000 target, delivering 33,490 affordable homes, of which 22,523 were for social rent. We have now committed investment of over £3 billion over the next five years to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes, of which 35,000 will be for social rent. Housing for social rent already has to meet our accessibility standards, but funding is also available for specialist housing – for example, helping disabled people with more complex needs live independently in their own homes. Fairer Scotland Action Plan RECOMMENDATION ACTION TAKEN/ PROPOSED

8. Ensure fuel poverty programmes We are investing to tackle fuel poverty and increase energy efficiency. The are focused to support those Scottish Government has allocated over half a billion pounds in this area on low incomes, and do more since 2009 and this year more than £113 million has been made available. to tackle the poverty premium This money will help install energy efficiency measures in thousands of in home energy costs homes across Scotland, and build on the more than one million measures already delivered to almost one million Scottish households since

2008. This record investment is reflected in the big improvements in the energy efficiency of Scotland’s housing. Two out of five homes are now in the top three ratings for energy efficiency, an increase of 71% since 2010 and 11% in the last year alone. The Scottish Government remains committed to continuing its efforts in this area and previously established the Rural Fuel Poverty Task Force and the Fuel Poverty Strategic Working Group to provide recommendations on, respectively, tackling fuel poverty in remote and off gas grid households, and a new strategy for tackling fuel poverty. Both groups are due to report later this year.

9. Be bold on local tax reform From April 2017, council tax will be fairer. From then, the rates paid by those in the four highest council tax bands (E, F, G and H) will be adjusted, with the average band E household paying around £2 per week more and the average household in the highest band around £10 a week more. The 75 per cent of Scottish households that live in bands A to D will be unaffected by this change to the council tax band system and up to 54,000 households living in bands E to H on low incomes – more than one third of which are pensioner households – will be entitled to an exemption from the changes through the council tax reduction scheme. The reforms will also provide additional support to families on low incomes across all council tax bands by extending the relief available to households with children. This will benefit up to 77,000 low income families by an average of £173 per year, supporting up to 140,000 children. The additional £100 million revenue generated each year from these changes will be invested in schools to support closing the educational attainment gap.

10. Carry out a comprehensive Founded on the views of children and young people, and engaging with review of the policies and senior policy makers, a young people’s symposium was held in April 2016 services relevant to the life and formulated a number of recommendations aimed at securing better chances of older children and outcomes for young people; these are being considered by Ministers young adults, with particular and officials. The symposium is feeding into a review of evidence, which emphasis on young people is now being undertaken in-house to meet this recommendation. from poorer backgrounds 94/95 RECOMMENDATION ACTION TAKEN/ PROPOSED

11. Reduce the number of We will look to streamline young people’s employment programmes. government-supported The Independent Advisor recommended that government-supported employment programmes employment programmes for young people should be streamlined targeting this group of young to provide a clearer, sharper focus. Since then, we have narrowed people [aged 16-24] and the eligibility criteria of two programmes so that they have become simplify the landscape, to more focused on helping those who face the greatest barriers to provide a clearer, sharper focus employment and extended the duration of the support available in line with Developing The Young Workforce’s recommendations: Community Jobs Scotland and Scotland’s Employer Recruitment Incentive. This more focused approach on helping those furthest from the labour market goes some way towards meeting this recommendation, but we recognise there is more still to do on simplifying the landscape and will consider how we progress this in the next Spending Review.

12. Ensure that the new approach Employer-led Developing Young Workforce (DYW) Regional Groups to employer engagement have been established in Glasgow; North East; Fife; Ayrshire; North in education is having an Highland; the West Region; Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian; impact on improving skills Dumfries and Galloway; Dundee and Angus; West Lothian; Inverness and for work of young people Central Highland; West Highland; Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire; Forth Valley; and Moray, with the remaining due to be established by the end of March 2017. The Regional Groups will encourage and support employers to engage directly with schools and colleges; and challenge and support employers to recruit more young people into their workforce; and will deliver a fundamental change in the relationship between employers and education which will open up opportunities for employers to supplement the careers information offered to young people and support the delivery and design of the curriculum. This will support teachers to widen and enhance the options available to young people in education and remove some of the barriers to employing young people. The creation and development of the Groups will ensure that all of Scotland’s young people are supported into employment and that they have access to the information that they need to make informed choices. Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is working with partners to deliver Foundation Apprenticeship (FA) pathfinders, increasing the number on offer for academic year 16-17. We are also working to develop the Graduate Level Apprenticeships. These apprenticeships will support the in- work development of graduates with initial activity focused on Engineering, Civil Engineering and Digital sectors. Fairer Scotland Action Plan RECOMMENDATION ACTION TAKEN/ PROPOSED

13. Do more to tackle The Fairer Scotland Action Plan sets out relevant commitments. occupational segregation For example, we are committed to establishing an advisory council for women and girls. We are also developing a women returners project which we expect will encourage women to re-enter STEM type careers and close the gap in the science sector. The Modern Apprenticeship Equalities Plan was published in December 2015 and is starting to deliver improvements.

14. Ensure that public service We announced principles which will underpin the use of new social delivery is respectful, person- security powers. These are based on dignity and respect and a centred and preserves the shared understanding that social security is for everyone. dignity of people in poverty: pre-employment and in-service training should include the importance of avoiding stigma and developing understanding of the challenges of living on a very low income

15. Commence the socio- We will introduce a new socio-economic duty on public authorities economic duty in the Equality in 2017. This will help ensure that organisations in the public Act 2010, when powers sector take account of socio-economic disadvantage when they’re are available to do so making strategic decisions. We will monitor how the duty operates in practice and, if it is not delivering, we will introduce further legislation in future years to strengthen it. We will ensure, via this duty, that the public sector is all working towards the same goal. © Crown copyright 2016 ISBN: 978-1-78652-493-5 This document is also available on The Scottish Government website: www.gov.scot Produced for The Scottish Government by APS Group Scotland, 21 Tennant Street, Edinburgh EH6 5NA PPDAS80463 (10/16) w w w . g o v . s c o t