Human Rights Bill Governance and Engagement Executive Board minutes: April 2022

Attendees and apologies

• Alan Speirs, Police Scotland
• Caroline Lamb, DG H&SC and NHS Scotland
• Carolyn McLeod, Audit Scotland
• Catherine Topley, NDPB Forum
• Chris McCoy-Lavery, Visit Scotland
• Edith MacIntosh, Care Inspectorate
• Elisabeth Campbell, Scottish Government
• James Dunphy, Scottish Funding Council
• Jim Savege, SOLACE
• John McMorris, SQA
• Lorraine Cook, COSLA
• Luis Felipe Yanes, Scottish Human Rights Commission
• Paul Johnston, Scottish Government
• Ramsay Milne, Scottish Water
• Richmond Davies, Public Health Scotland
• Teresa Medhurst, Scottish Prison Service

Apologies

• Angela Leitch, Public Health Scotland
• Cath Denholm, Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Emma Campbell, Scottish Water
• Fiona Robertson, SQA
• Kavita Chetty, Scottish Human Rights Commission
• Sally Louden, COSLA

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

Paul Johnston welcomed attendees to the fourth meeting of the Human Rights Bill Executive Board, noted apologies and highlighted that Edith MacIntosh has taken over as the Care Inspectorate representative and Carolyn McLeod on behalf of Audit Scotland since the last meeting.

It was noted that the terms of reference have now been cleared by correspondence and these will be put on the Executive Board webpage.

Scottish Government update

Paul Johnston provided members with an update on behalf of the Scottish Government in relation to Covid recovery and both the Scottish and United Kingdom Covid Inquiry’s. A short update was also provided on the UNCRC Bill, with the work of the UNCRC Strategic Implementation Board highlighted.

Members acknowledged the impact the UNCRC Bill could have on the Human Rights Bill and added it would be beneficial to discuss this further when the implications are known. 

Human Rights Bill update

Paul Johnston introduced Louise Halpin, Human Rights Bill Team Leader, to provide an update on the Bill Team progress since the last Executive Board meeting in December. This included an update on recent workshops undertaken by the Bill Team on access to justice and the equality provision.

The method of incorporation was highlighted as being particularly complex with members keen to ensure incorporation provides clarity, is actionable and cannot be interpreted differently among lawyers. Capacity building was also raised, with members keen to discuss this further as work develops.

Upcoming consultation

Timings of the upcoming Human Rights Bill were expressed, however it was noted this would be subject to the usual Cabinet clearance processes and other government business. The consultation will build upon the work of the First Minister’s Advisory Group and National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership.

The consultation chapters were outlined to members alongside accessibility considerations and plans for consultation engagement.

It was emphasised the Human Rights Bill would be a high level framework Bill and the Bill Team would be keen to hear members views on how to navigate the complexities of incorporation in particular through the consultation.

It was underlined that the Bill Team have been working closely with other government business such as the National Care Service, Public Sector Equality Duty and Mental Health Law Review.

Members were happy with the consultation approach outlined by the Bill Team, but noted it would be useful to build in reviews while the consultation is open. This could ensure the consultation receives feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, and reaches both grassroots level and key stakeholders. Members were open to further discussion with the Bill Team before the next scheduled meeting of the Executive Board for a further discussion on the consultation.

Lived experience board

Joe McKeown from the Human Rights Bill Team provided an update on Lived Experience Board work and set out how this connects with the work of this Board and the Advisory Board.

Executive Board members were positive towards collaborating with the Lived Experience Board and felt future meetings between the Boards would be beneficial. It was also noted that Lived Experience Board reports would be circulated with Executive Board members to ensure work is joined up, and that it was positive to hear the Lived Experience Board had also discussed and shaped the consultation.

Access to justice

Paul Johnston noted a paper on access to justice had been circulated with the Executive Board prior to the meeting and invited Dan Garraghan to discuss this with members. The paper focussed on prevention, non-judicial routes to remedy and judicial remedies.

Key themes from the prevention aspect were to focus on outcomes, as opposed to tasks, and embedding and mainstreaming duties so additional duties and reporting are not burdensome on delivery.

Sector by sector implementation plans that could go into more detail as to what this framework means/requires, for a specific area such as housing for example were discussed. Members felt this was an interesting idea but highlighted risks such as the potential for a siloed and fragmented approach and this proposal would need to carefully consider transition points. Members were also mindful of the potential for duplication and the impact place could have on sectors, for example councils in rural areas may have differing priorities in urban areas.

Implementation of complaints handling mechanisms were also discussed with members noting there are complaints mechanisms currently in place, so a preference would be to expand these complaint handling mechanisms as a starting point. Members also underlined the importance of dispute resolution vehicles such as mediation and negotiation. It was noted consideration should be given to how resolutions can fix structural, as opposed to individual issues.

Any other business

Paul Johnston thanked members for their participation and noted the next meeting of the Executive Board will be in August 2022.