National Advisory Council on Women and Girls report: Scottish Government response

Summary of our response

NACWG Recommendation

We call for Scottish Government to advocate for the full devolution of equality legislation and policy-making to the Scottish Parliament.

Our Response

We accept the NACWG’s recommendation, and while our position is that independence is the surest way to protect and enhance the powers of the Scottish Parliament, we will continue to press for additional powers for the Scottish Government and Parliament for as long as Scotland remains within the UK.

NACWG Recommendation

We call on the Scottish Government to integrate intersectional gender budget analysis into the Scottish Budget process, and to give this a statutory footing.

Our Response

We accept the principle of the NACWG’s recommendation and will engage with the NACWG, the Equality Budget Advisory Group and others, to develop and approach to further integrate intersectional gender analysis into the Scottish Budget process as part of our wider work on equality and human rights budgeting. We will also consider giving this a statutory footing, including through our work to review the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) as it operates in Scotland.

NACWG Recommendation

We call on the Scottish Government as part of the current review of the PSED regulations in Scotland to place additional specific duties on listed Public Bodies to:

• Gather and use intersectional data, including employment and service user data, to advance equality between protected groups, including men and women;
• Integrate intersectional gender budget analysis into their budget setting procedures.

Our Response

As part of our ongoing review of the operation of the PSED in Scotland, we published a consultation in December 2021 which includes seeking views on the NACWG’s recommendation that additional duties should be placed on listed authorities relating to intersectional data collection and usage, and intersectional gender budgeting.^[3]

NACWG Recommendation

We also call for the expansion of the mandate of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, with sufficient resourcing to allow it to take on cases on behalf of individuals.

Our Response

We accept the NACWG’s recommendation and will engage with the SHRC and the Scottish Parliament to consider how an extension of powers could be delivered and adequately resourced.