Non–binary equality action plan 2023-2028: progress report 2024

Foreword from the Minister for Equalities

I am delighted to publish the Scottish Government’s first Non-Binary Equality Action Plan Progress Report (the “Report”).

Our vision is for Scotland to be a place where everyone’s identity is recognised, respected and celebrated. It should be a place where everybody can participate, access rights and opportunities and thrive in society.

Published in November 2023, the Non-Binary Equality Action Plan 2023-28 (the “Plan”) was the first of its kind in the UK. It aims to improve the lives of non-binary people and the wider trans community in Scotland by taking steps to address the inequalities and barriers that they face in their everyday lives.

The Plan set out a range of short-term, medium-term and long-term actions across six key themes for us to take forward on our journey to advance equality for non-binary people. We are at the beginning of this journey.

In the Plan, we committed to publishing an annual progress report at the end of each year. This Report details the progress made during 2024, our first year of this five-year Plan.

I am pleased to see the progress that has been made this year. I would like to thank all those across the public and third sectors who have worked hard to make this happen.

Non-binary people’s voices will continue to be at the heart of what we do, and we will continue to listen to them as we take forward the actions in the Plan.

Significant work this year has included:

• Publication of the Evidence Review on Non-Binary People’s Experiences in Scotland
• High level data from Scotland’s Census 2022 has been published, which includes information on the number of non-binary people in Scotland for the first time
• Equality Impact Assessment Guidance and Training has been updated to explicitly reference non-binary people
• Additional training has been developed for healthcare providers including a Transgender Knowledge and Skills Framework and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training.

However, the Report also recognises that there is still a great deal of work for us to do over the next four years and we won’t shy away from this. We acknowledge that progress on some actions has perhaps been slower than anticipated and we have also had to adjust timescales on a number of actions.

We cannot ignore that we are currently working in a challenging financial environment, and this means that we need an even sharper focus on delivering the actions in this Plan as efficiently, effectively and economically as possible.

It is vital that we continue to work collaboratively with our partners to deliver this Plan. This is particularly important at a time when we are seeing a rise in attacks against the LGBTQI+ community.

I would like to thank LGBTQI+ equality organisations and former working group members who provided us with feedback on our earlier interim update report, which has helped to inform this report.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise, once again, our commitment to bring about positive and lasting change for the non-binary and wider trans community in Scotland is unwavering. We will continue to work towards our vision of a Scotland that strives for equality for all.