Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) information: FOI release

Information requested

1. How much money has been spent on the Scottish Government looking into the reform of the public sector equality duty over the last ten years, with a breakdown of each year and what the money has been spent on?

2. How many consultations has the government published about this topic and similar policies on reform of the public sector equality duty over the last ten years, with a list of these?

3. All briefings prepared for ministers regarding the public sector equality duty January 2023 and the date of this FOI.

Response

Response to Question 1

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, an exemption under section 17(1) of FOISA applies to this request as Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

This is because the the nature of this work involves various policy areas with officials and resources shared across multiple projects during this time period, there is not now and there has not previously been one single team working solely on reform of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), but rather multiple teams and officials considering a range of matters related to PSED reform in the context of broader equality policy and mainstreaming work. Similarly, any commissioned projects are also likely to be interlinked, meaning it is not possible to attribute a single figure to the overall expenditure. As a result, we are unable to provide a financial summary for the requested period.

Response to Question 2

To date there has been one formal consultation on the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in Scotland. This was open for public consultation 13 December 2021 and closed on 11 April 2022. This consultation can be found at: https://consult.gov.scot/mainstreaming-policy-team/public-sector-equalityduty-review/

Over the last ten years officials have undertaken continued and widespread engagement with stakeholders across protected characteristic groups, as well as public sector organisations, to gather their views on how best to reform the PSED in Scotland, but there has only been one formal public consultation on this topic.

Response to Question 3

I enclose a copy of the information you requested.

Given the wide ranging scope of the initial request, we have considered formal submissions from the Directorate for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights to the Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees during the time stated for this request to be in scope.

During the specified time period other Directorates across Scottish Government may have provided briefing to Ministers which cover the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), among a wide range of issues, with PSED being background information and not the primary focus of the briefing. We expect that an ask relating to identifying all such briefing material would be subject to a section 12 exemption where the upper cost limit applies.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under Section 38(1)(b) applies because it is personal data, i.e. names and contact details, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

Additionally, Section 30 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) exempts information from disclosure where disclosure would, or would be likely to (ii) inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. This is also in line with a Section 36(1) exemption where this information is is subject to legal professional privilege.

Disclosing the content of free and frank briefing material will substantially inhibit such briefing in the future, particularly because discussions on the issue relate to an ongoing matter. Therefore, information of this nature has also been redacted.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which officials and stakeholders can provide full and frank advice to as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s policy, until the Government as a whole can adopt a policy decision that is sound and likely to be effective. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, based on the best available advice, so that good policy decisions can be taken. Disclosure would undermine the quality of the policy decision making process, which would not be in the public interest. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202300387210 - Information Released - Annex

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19 page PDF

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