Setting the Table Guidance: Equality Impact Assessment

The Scope of the EQIA

This 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 9 protected characteristics (PC). If not is the discrimination justifiable? Can it be mitigated?
• Does this policy advance equality of opportunity for PC groups?
• Does this policy foster good community relations between people of PC groups?

In addition to this EQIA, a Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment, Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment, Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment, and Island Communities Impact Assessment will also be published.

Methodology

This impact assessment sought to assess the impact of updating the Setting the Table guidance document on people with protected characteristics.

An informal consultation (Sense Check) exercise of the full draft guidance document was undertaken between February and March 2024. The Sense Check sought a view from members of the Scottish Government multi-partner working group, including external contacts with relevant expertise. All members were asked to share the draft document with their respective partners for specific feedback on presentation, comprehensibility for users, and any perceived issues with practical implementation across the sector, including impacts on services and children. A range of relevant Scottish Government policy leads, as well as the Chief Medical Officer, Deputy Chief Medical Officer with responsibility for Public Health, and Senior Medical Advisor for Paediatrics were also invited to provide feedback on the draft document. The findings from the Sense Check exercise informed the finalisation of the updated Setting the Table guidance document.

Due to the age of the children involved, our approach to representing children’s interests within this EQIA has largely been to engage with organisations that provide services for children, including members of the Scottish Government led multi-partner working group.

Data sources:

There are a number of data sources and research findings that have informed the development of this EQIA. Whilst there is widespread recognition of the importance of early years exposure to food, the data and evidence on the provision of food in ELC settings is currently very limited. Instead, data and evidence on the benefits of early childhood education and care, the take-up of funded ELC, child poverty, food insecurity and health, and children’s views about food and food insecurity were considered.

The Scottish Government is exploring a range of options for sourcing further data and feedback on the provision of a free healthy and nutritious meal as part of the ELC day.

Data sources utilised in this process included:

• Scottish Government Early Learning and Childcare Census Data (2023) Early learning and childcare statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Improvement Service – Early learning and childcare delivery progress report (2023) Early Learning and Childcare Expansion Delivery Progress Report, February 2022 (improvementservice.org.uk)
• NHS Health Scotland – Evaluability assessment of the expansion of early learning and childcare (2017) NHS Health Scotland – Evaluability assessment of the expansion of early learning and childcare
• Scottish Government – Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland (2022-23) Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2020-23 (data.gov.scot)
• Scottish Government – Scottish Healthy Survey (2022) 8 Diet and Obesity - The Scottish Health Survey 2022 – volume 1: main report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Cambridge University Press - Food insecurity in children and young people (2024) Food insecurity in children and young people in Scotland | Proceedings of the Nutrition Society | Cambridge Core
• Nourish Scotland “Living is More Important than Just Surviving – Listening to what children think about food insecurity” report (2016) Living_more_important_than_surviving.pdf (nourishscotland.org)
• Children’s Parliament “What kind of Scotland?” report (2017) WhatKindofScotlandOnline2017.pdf (childrensparliament.org.uk)
• European Commission - Building a better understanding of the impact of early childhood education and care on medium- and long-term educational and labour market outcomes in Europe (2022) Building a better understanding of the impact of Early Childhood Education and Care on medium- and long-term educational and labour market outcomes in Europe
• CARE Project – review of research on the effects of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) upon child development (2015) ‘A review of research on the effects of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) upon child development’
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – Starting Strong: Key OECD Indicators on Early Childhood Education and Care (2017) Starting Strong 2017: Key OECD Indicators on Early Childhood Education and Care