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

Scope of the EQIA

The Scottish Government's Advanced Manufacturing team have completed this EQIA for the development of Making Scotland's Future: A Recovery Plan for Manufacturing, to identify opportunities to boost equality across the manufacturing sector.

Specifically, the EQIA considers impacts on equalities groups based on the three tests it is required to address:

• Does this policy eliminate discrimination for each of the nine protected characteristics? If not is the discrimination justifiable? Can it be mitigated?
• Does this policy advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not?
• Does this policy foster good community relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not?

The aim of publishing Making Scotland's Future: A Recovery Plan For Manufacturing is to support the manufacturing sector as it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19. The plan has been developed through the Making Scotland's Future Programme Board whose membership comprises of senior representation from: Scottish Engineering Trade Association; Trade Unions as nominated by the STUC; Scottish Economic Development and Skills Agencies; Innovate UK/Made Smarter; and Scottish Government. This provided an opportunity to consult on the impact of the plan on those in the different groups with protected characteristics under the Equalities Act 2010 in order to see if there are particular matters we should be taking into account. The protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

The full EQIA for the manufacturing guidance is a strategy focused document which has been produced following consultation with stakeholder equality groups.