Making Scotland's future - a recovery plan for manufacturing: equality impact assessment

Executive summary

This document supports consideration of the impact of Making Scotland's Future: A Recovery Plan For Manufacturing on people with protected characteristics.

The Scottish Government is mindful of the three needs of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) - eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.^[1] Therefore Making Scotland's Future: A Recovery Plan For Manufacturing has been designed to take into account the needs of the PSED when considering what actions should be taken forward.

Where any negative impacts have been identified, we have sought to address this by considering how the actions proposed in the plan can be implemented in such a way as to mitigate any negative impacts. We are also mindful that the equality duty is not just about negating or mitigating negative impacts, as we also have a positive duty to promote equality. We have sought to do this through considering how the actions proposed in the plan can have a positive impact in reducing inequality

Making Scotland's Future: A Recovery Plan For Manufacturing recognises that there will be positive impacts across many of the protected characteristics by setting out a targeted plan to safeguard and grow Scotland's manufacturing sector. By protecting jobs and helping the sector to 'build back better' the plan will allow businesses to upskill their workforce, take advantage of digital technology and move towards net-zero. This will provide an opportunity to encourage greater diversity in the manufacturing workforce; in particular the actions outlined in the Skills and Workforce area provide an opportunity to target people in categories which are historically underrepresented in manufacturing

Making Scotland's Future: A Recovery Plan For Manufacturing affects all those who are involved in the Scottish manufacturing Industry. It will directly affect employers, employees, trade unions and workplace representatives, workplace contractors, customers, suppliers and delivery drivers.

It has been identified that the Recovery Plan may have some impact on all 9 protected characteristic groups, with some groups being more impacted than others. Where any negative impacts have been identified, we have sought to address these.