Pre-Budget Fiscal Statement: Equality and Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment

Social Justice

Agreed saving: Equalities, Inclusion and Human Rights – Human rights bill team (and other small savings)

Description: Human Rights Bill implementation costs reprofiled to align with revised delivery timetable.

£million (reduction): 0.1

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

The reduction in spending is due to a resequencing of work and therefore spending being reprofiled. There is no change to the intention to introduce the HR Bill to protect rights in the longer term and therefore no adverse impacts on children from this change in 24/25 spending, nor in relation to the other areas of impact assessment.

Agreed saving: Activities to support Ukrainian Displaced People in Scotland – removal of dinner provision

Description: Concessionary dinner provision in Ukraine Resettlement welcome accommodation to be replaced with a £3 flat charge.

£million (reduction): 0.5

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

An EQIA has been completed which concluded that some potential negative effects on protected characteristics have been identified, due to some groups being more likely to have lower incomes. However, officials assess that mitigating action and the exemption policy should prevent negative effects.

Agreed saving: Local Government and Housing – COVID-19 loan admin

Description: Reduction in administrative costs associated with managing the PRS and Tenant Hardship Loans issued during COVID.

£million (reduction): 0.1

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

The savings result from reduced demand in these programmes. At this stage, there is no quantifiable impact from the savings.

Agreed saving: Cladding Remediation

Description: Reprofile of existing resource budget expenditure forecast, no reduction in forecast programme activity. Reduction in demand -led forecast. The demand element for the resource budget materialises if the Single Building Assessments conducted highlight the requirement for Urgent Interim Measures.

We will not be in a position to know this until the SBAs have concluded.

£million (reduction): 0.7

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

We will continue to work with stakeholders, assessing and prioritising buildings for intervention using a risk-based approach, underpinned by the outcomes of the Single Building Assessment, ensuring that the risk to life is identified and mitigated across both Scottish Government and Developer led remediation projects.

Buildings within the programme will be assessed and prioritised based on the risks identified by the single building assessment. Supporting pace of cladding remediation, reduction of costs to owners and the public, and ensure that risk to life is identified, assessed, and mitigated.

Agreed saving: Equalities, Inclusion and Human Rights – LGBTQI+

Description: Contingency provision for potential legal fees removed

£million (reduction): 0.1

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

No impact

Agreed saving: Social Security Scotland – workforce savings realised

Description: Reviewing resource requirements

£million (reduction): 7.0

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

This saving is in relation to reviewing our resource requirements, and the timing of when people join the organisation. No direct equality or fairness impacts identified

Agreed saving: Social Security Scotland – Pension Age Winter Heating Payment

Description: Change in delivery of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.

£million (reduction): 5.0

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

This reduction is due to not bringing in temporary staff to deliver Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in 2024-25 as a result of change to delivery: no direct equality or fairness impacts identified.

Agreed saving: Social Security Scotland – stop development of specific marketing campaign and advertising

Description: Halt work on the development and delivery of an overarching campaign focused on reducing stigma and removing barriers as well as paid-for advertising focused on Funeral Support Payment, Job Start Payment & Young Carers Grant uptake.

£million (reduction): 0.2

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

Risk that budget reduction will negatively impact benefit uptake amongst eligible people. Paid for marketing is a vital lever in reaching seldom heard audiences. This reduction could disproportionately impact those in certain equality groups, such as disabled people, low income families, carers, minority ethnic people, those from rural areas. To help mitigate the impact of the budget reduction, communication plans and use of staffing resource, will pivot away from paid-for marketing to delivery of zero-cost activity. This would include, for example, an increased focus on PR and media relations, placing of features in press, organic social media content and sharing of digital resources with stakeholders and partners. However, whilst we will not understand impact on benefit uptake until this can be analysed retrospectively, it is important to note that these activities will reach and engage with a significantly smaller percentage of the people that paid-for marketing would.

Agreed saving: Social Security – Scottish Household Survey

Description: This measure is an adjustment to the Social Security Directorate’s contribution to the Scottish Household Survey and reflects the current delivery plans.

£million (reduction): 0.4

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

No impact.

Agreed saving: Local Government and Housing – rented sector reform

Description: Reprofiling of a number of lines of activity associated with rented sector reform whilst prioritising the essential groundwork for the Housing Bill, including tenant participation panels, communication campaigns and data collection.

£million (reduction): 0.3

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

This saving arises from reprofiling of planned expenditure. No direct equality or fairness impacts have been identified at this time.

Agreed saving: Social Security – Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU0

Description: Rephasing the Compensation Recovery Unit activity into 2025-26

£million (reduction): 1.0

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

No impact.

Agreed saving: Social Security – travel, homeworking and assurance activity.

Description: As part of finding savings a decision has been taken to not use external advice for External Assurance work (£0.25m) being undertaken in Social Security Scotland. Also, the Social Security Directorate has suspended all travel and has reduced its home working equipment budget that at this stage in the programme is deemed as no longer required.

£million (reduction): 0.3

Equality and fairness – evidence and impact analysis:

No impact.