Coronavirus (COVID-19): Strategic Framework update February 2022: equalities and fairer Scotland impact assessment

Policy objectives

The aim is to move from suppressing COVID-19 to managing a level of the virus circulating in society, ensuring that harm reduction measures are proportionate and consistent with our broader purpose of creating a more successful, sustainable and inclusive Scotland. We are aware that the measures will have differential impacts on people related to their intersectional protected characteristics. The Framework accepts a level of COVID-19 circulating in society as being the right balance of harms. However some baseline measures may be required, particular when the virus is in wide circulation, to ensure that remaining risks do not sit disproportionately on people who are at greater danger of harm from COVID-19.

Individual policies and measures will be equality impact assessed as they are developed to ensure that interventions are tailored to meet people's needs and to reduce the risk of harm. Their implementation will be monitored and adjusted as required. As part of that process, we will continue to seek improvements to our data and utilise evidence from lived and learned experience, to ensure that we are meeting our requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

The responsibility for delivering this Framework rests with us all – including government, wider public services, businesses, the third sector, communities and individuals. We encourage all to think about the wide range of people in Scottish society and to make their services and cultures enabling and inclusive for all.

The Strategic Framework is supported by the COVID Recovery Strategy: For Fairer Future. While the Strategic Framework sets out the future intent for responding to COVID-19, the Recovery Strategy sets out how the Scottish Government will ensure Scotland's recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. Both documents acknoweldge that the impacts of the pandemic have not been felt equally – in fact, COVID-19 has worsened many of the pre-existing structural inequalities, in particular for groups of people with protected characteristics. The Recovery Strategy was informed by a range of evidence and engagement activity with people, communities and organisations across Scotland. The Strategy was supported by an Equality Impact Assessment and Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment, both of which include a range of evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on protected groups.

This EQFSIA for the Strategic Framework does not seek to replicate the analysis provided for the Recovery Strategy but to stand alongside it, concentrating on the specific public health aspects of the Framework as set out in the policy rationale below.

Future Development of the Evidence Base

The Strategic Framework discusses the importance of future data collection for disease surveillance but also to understand the effectiveness and impacts of measures. The Framework sets out the intention to consider what evidence, data and analysis will be required going forward. Work is underway with PHS and our partners to review the content and frequency of all current reporting to identify what is required to support resilience and recovery in the future. This will involve prioritising the modelling, data and analysis that is essential to support the future monitoring and surveillance of COVID‑19. It will be important for data development to continue to identify gaps in evidence and seek to fill them, especially with regard to the protected characteristics.^[1]

Background and scope of EQFSIA

Our management of the COVID-19 pandemic has been guided by a Strategic Framework which was first published in October 2020 and has been updated as we have moved through various stages in February, June, and November 2021, and now in February 2022. This updated Framework, supported by the remarkable progress first on vaccination and also in new treatments, will see a shift in strategic intent from a focus on suppressing cases to managing COVID effectively, primarily through adaptations and health measures that strengthen our resilience and recovery as we rebuild for a better future.

This document sets out, based on evidence, the key ways in which inequalities could be impacted by the Strategic Framework, and how actions and measures have been or will be considered in relation to this evidence. The vast majority of measures have been in place at various periods over the last 2 years and our knowledge of the full impact of these measures has increased over this time. Individual actions will be in line with the requirements of the PSED and dedicated assessments of their particular impacts on inequalities for groups with protected characteristics will be carried out, as appropriate, as those policies develop.

In carrying out this EQFSIA, the Scottish Government is aware of its Fairer Scotland Duty to consider any possible inequality of outcomes due to socio-economic differences. Furthermore, it is mindful of the three needs of the PSED:

• to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
• to advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not;
• and to foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

We recognise that existing and, if required, future measures may positively impact on one or more of the protected characteristics.^[2] They may also have a disproportionate negative impact on one or more of the protected characteristics. Where any negative impacts have been identified, we will seek to mitigate/eliminate these. This document discusses some of these issues at a strategic level, but a lot of the detail specific to individual policy measures will require the development and monitoring of EQIAs and assessments under our Fairer Scotland Duty.

PSED is not just about negating or mitigating negative impacts, as we also have a positive duty to promote equality. For example, we will continue to stress the importance we will place on adherence with protective measures to ensure that a 'return to normal' is genuinely inclusive. We are also mindful that the pandemic has shone a light on inequality, poverty and disadvantage, and there is clear evidence that harm has been felt disproportionately by people and communities who were already experiencing poorer outcomes. Disabled people, minority ethnic communities, people on low incomes, older people, younger people, and women are amongst those who have particularly experienced disproportionate impacts, with multiple disadvantage making things even harder for many.

This EQFSIA provides a current assessment and we will also continue to consider and use any newly identified evidence, as it relates to each of the protected characteristics. We will make further adjustments, as appropriate, as we wish to ensure that equality and human rights are central to the Framework.

Therefore, with this in mind it is important that we use the learning from evidence, engagement and individual EQIAs and FSAs to help implement this Framework in a way that continues to balance the various risks and harms across people with varying protected characteristic and their intersectionalities.

The equality context for the Strategic Framework for COVID-19.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic arising from the direct and indirect effects of contracting the illness, as well as measures put in place to control the spread of the virus, have been significant for everyone. However, the pandemic has shone a bright light on inequality, poverty and disadvantage. There is a steady stream of evidence from the public and third sector, from academia, think-tanks and from lived and learned experience, all of which agree that harm has been felt disproportionately by people and communities who were already experiencing poorer outcomes prior to the pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic we were already aware of, and attempting to tackle, inequality across a range of different policy domains in Scotland. The requirements of PSED, the Scottish Specific Duties and the Fairer Scotland Duty have been key in informing the development of these policies, for example, and through key transformative policies such as the Child Poverty (Scotland Act), the Scottish-specific duties of the PSED and the Fairer Scotland Duty. The unprecedented nature of the pandemic meant that it was necessary to take extraordinary measures to protect public health. But throughout, we aimed to seek balance and proportionality to reduce harmful impacts across a broad range of health, social and economic factors, and take into account differential impacts on the Scottish population, including for equality groups and socio-economically disadvantaged groups. Our response included a particular focus on protecting the right to life, the right to the highest attainable standard of public health, and the right to healthy and safe working conditions, all of which are set out in a range of international human rights instruments to which the UK is a state party.

Throughout, we continued to build evidence and gather lived experience to understand the impacts of the pandemic on people's lives. In doing this we recognised the need for a wide range of expertise to help us understand the issues. We established the Social Renewal Advisory Board, the Expert Reference Group on COVID-19 and Ethnicity alongside ongoing groups such as the First Minister's National Advisory Council on Women and Girls, the Faith and Belief Group and individual discussions between policy areas and people with lived and learned experience. We have also engaged with those who have been at highest clinical risk from COVID-19 through user research and wider PHS evaluation surveys.

This approach helped us to mitigate against the worst impacts as well as promoting equality through tailored policies, through provisions contained in regulations, or by a range of support and guidance. The following examples illustrate such action:

• A range of support was provided for people at clinical risk from COVID-19 and who were advised to shield. This included online and telephone advice and physical support to access essential goods (food and medicine delivery and access to priority supermarket slots) as well as specific support for at risk groups such as homeless rough sleepers.
• The vaccination roll-out was based heavily on clinical need, prioritising older people and those with underlying health conditions, many of whom would consider themselves to be disabled, as well as their carers. Specific tailored action was taken to help different communities access and engage in the testing and vaccination programmes including self-generated messaging from faith leaders and use of certain places of worship as vaccination centres.
• As public services moved to digital approaches, many welcomed the change, preferring the safety and convenience of getting assistance from home. However, for digitally excluded people such as low income households or older people, this was another obstacle. Connecting Scotland sought to provide devices, data and training to assist, but some will still lack confidence in these approaches. Funding was made available to assist places of worship to support them to deliver their services online and enable remote attendance.
• A range of financial support was made available to low income households who were more likely to be struggling financially through the pandemic. This included low income pandemic payment, free school meal support through school holidays, bridging payments for Scottish Child payment and help with winter fuel costs. Poverty is more prevalent for lone parents, households with a disabled adult or child, minority ethnic families and younger people.
• The impact on children and young people has been far-reaching, including attainment but stretching into all areas of their lives. Mitigations to help with access to digital learning and summer of play programmes were put in place, along with less restrictive public health measures for younger children. It is clear that the longer term impacts, and particularly on those young people who missed key life stage milestones, such as taking school exams, learning to drive, getting a job, leaving home, moving to Scotland to study or work, developing strong peer relationships, starting on a career, are still to be fully understood.

We are also aware that many of the key public health measures were difficult to mitigate completely. Face coverings were a key public health measure, and although regulations allowed medical exemptions, this still carried anxiety with it as well as causing problems for people with hearing difficulties. Some disabled people's organisations have flagged anecdotally that over the pandemic there has been a rise in incidents of hatred and abuse directed towards disabled people linked to face-coverings and the application of the medical exemptions. Some people with underlying health conditions were not advised to shield, but heightened anxiety about participating in social events or gatherings remained for many. Some people who were advised to shield during the first wave continue to self-shield, even though the general advice is to follow general population guidance unless advised otherwise by their GP or clinician. Social distancing was problematic for learning disabled people as well as those with impaired vision and older or disabled people who struggled in long queues. There are higher levels of general anxiety and loneliness, and much reduced levels of social contact, and for an extended period of time. These impacts have been higher for some groups including younger people, and disabled people, and they have potentially reduced social trust, social participation, social cohesion and networks that usually aid employment, cultural and educational opportunity.

The economic impacts of the pandemic were not felt equally. While many higher income households increased savings, lower income households struggled to get by. Women, young people, disabled people and people from minority ethnic groups experienced most harm from restricted working in sectors such as non-essential retail, personal services and hospitality. Women, particularly those who are lone parents, were disproportionately impacted by the months of home schooling and home working. Long term impacts of this period are still to be full understood^[3].

The lessons learnt during this period, including advice from expert groups, have also highlighted where medium and long-term action is needed to address long running structural inequality in terms of policy action and developing analysis structures to more effectively understand complex and long term inequality. We have already started working to address these areas including improvements to our equality data^[4] and taking forward action to address inequality experienced by people from minority ethnic communities.^[5]

Human rights will continue to be central to Scotland's response to the COVID-19 emergency. We are committed to continuing to uphold the principles of human dignity, autonomy, respect and equality, as we deal with the pandemic and its consequences. There is a wide recognition that COVID-19 demonstrates the need to provide more security in people's lives through the increased protection of economic, social and environmental rights, particularly for communities at greater risk of harm from COVID-19. The Scottish Government's continued commitment to protecting human rights is evident in the plans for a new Human Rights Bill, which will be introduced to during this parliamentary session.

We recognise that while we continue to take forward our strategic response to the pandemic we need to ensure that any continuing or new policies do not exacerbate inequality. We need to ensure that everyone feels that they can live their lives as we open up society and learn to live with COVID-19. We cannot let it move forward as a disease of the poor or disadvantaged.