Coronavirus (COVID-19) business support: equality impact assessments

Background

The Scottish Government considered from the outset whether lockdown provisions were consistent with the Equality Act 2010 and also considered whether the provisions could constitute indirect discrimination. This provided the context for more detailed decisions on financial support.

The Scottish Government responded quickly in very challenging circumstances to provide essential lifeline support to thousands of businesses, saving jobs and livelihoods. However, whilst one of the primary aims was to deliver this support at pace, we took a proportionate and balanced approach to considering equalities during the design of business support funds.

Scotland’s Strategic Framework, published on 23 October 2020, set out how the Scottish Government intended to respond to the crisis and the Framework for Decision Making outlined the principles which would guide decision making. The requirement to consider the broader equality impacts and the impact on individual rights, for example, for specific geographies and sectors, was at the forefront of these frameworks and therefore embedded in the design of business support funds.

The Scottish Government completed an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) on the Strategic Framework to assess the policy impact on diverse groups and individuals, and this overarching EQIA provided the context in which the business support grants were developed.

This document contains copies of more detailed EQIAs the Scottish Government completed on individual grant schemes to enhance the work already undertaken in this regard.