Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement 2022-2023

Foreword

The year's Scottish Budget secures the opportunity to create a fairer and greener future for Scotland. The budget is being published at a time where we all feel the ongoing effects of COVID-19, however the impacts have made pre-existing inequality worse and are more harmful for some people. This budget supports our ambitious commitments in the Programme for Government to address this inequality.

We remain committed to ensuring that all of Scotland's people are able to fulfil their potential regardless of their background and characteristics. Within this year's budget we have made significant investment to address inequality, including the commitment to double the Scottish Child Payment, the boldest and most ambitious anti-poverty measure anywhere in the UK.

However, we know that issues relating to inequality are complex and can only be addressed by actions which cut across all our spending. This statement has therefore been developed to consider spending across all budget areas in relation to protected characteristics and socio-economic disadvantage.

We know equality, inclusion and realisation of human rights should underpin decision‑making and delivery across all the work of government. The production of this Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement is only one part of this and we have committed to further embed equality and human rights within all stages of the Scottish Government's budget process.

The need to ensure that the budget decisions we make are rooted in addressing inequality remains vital to achieving our shared ambition for a fairer and more equal Scotland.

Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy

Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government