Event industry support fund 3: equality impact assessment

Stakeholder Engagement

We recognise that the event sector was one of the first to lock down in March 2020 and one of the last to restart fully in late summer 2021, and experienced more stringent measures than other sectors during the outbreak of the Omicron variant. We remain committed to the support and recovery of the sector, and to the underpinning public health measures as well as supporting public confidence to return to the full range of business, sporting, and cultural events.

When developing these funds we spoke to stakeholders, including the Event Industry Advisory Group on 22 December 2021^[17] and drew upon feedback from applicants and two online surveys of the event industry supply chain conducted by VisitScotland's Events Directorate in 2020. We also drew on the EQIA prepared for the COVID-19 Events Sector Guidance^[18] which was developed following consultation with a range of organisations representing people with one or more protected characteristics.

This provided an opportunity to listen to stakeholder views, test ideas, share information about progress and discuss and address specific issues identified by the sector and individual businesses.