Tackling prejudice and building connected communities: Scottish Government response

Actions We Will Take

• Establish a national multi-agency delivery group with Ministerial oversight to take forward the implementation of the Advisory Group's recommendations.
• Establish an Advisory Panel on Community Cohesion, to provide expert advice on how we can strengthen our approach to building cohesive communities and safeguarding people from harm.
• Review our approach to engaging with communities, to ensure that we are aware of their issues and concerns
• In summer 2017, set out a range of initiatives supported through our Equality Budget that will contribute to tackling hate crime and prejudice, and building community cohesion
• Work with disabled people's organisations to implement our action plan on disability 'A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People' to address the underreporting of disability hate crime.
• Work through the Race Equality Framework to engage with minority ethnic communities in building community cohesion and safety, and improving the lives of Scotland's minority ethnic communities.
• Work with the Scottish National Equality Improvement Programme to share best practice around fostering good relations in communities and consider what further guidance and support may be required to enable them to do this
• Engage in dialogue around definitions and terminology, taking account of any conclusions that Lord Bracadale's review of hate crime legislation may offer in this regard.
• Adopt the international definition of anti-Semitism, and engage with stakeholders on how this translates into improved practice on the ground
• Develop a public awareness campaign around the impacts of hate crime in partnership with stakeholders, and run this later in 2017 to coincide with wider awareness raising initiatives.
• Progress the implementation of our new relationships and behaviour policy, which supports local authorities and schools to further improve relationships and behaviour in their learning communities
• Publish a refreshed approach to anti-bullying, including prejudice-based bullying
• Consider learning from evaluation of the education inspection indicator relating to inclusion, and work with Education Scotland to ensure that best practice is disseminated
• Explore further the potential of youth work (as a model of peer-led intervention) to contribute to tackling hate crime and prejudice.
• Consider the recommendations of Lord Bracadale's independent review of hate crime legislation, and set out how we intend to implement these
• Through the newly established multi-agency delivery group, consider how to break down barriers to reporting and inform this with Police Scotland's work on developing the third party reporting infrastructure.
• Publish guidance for delivery of restorative justice in Scotland which will ensure that where restorative justice processes are available, these will be delivered in a coherent, consistent, victim focussed manner across Scotland
• Agree a hate crime charter with public transport operators which provides clear, common standards and consistent processes for dealing with hate crime on public transport
• Work with the STUC and others to gather evidence of hate crime experienced within the workplace, with an initial focus on front line workers
• Engage with key stakeholders to consider further steps to prevent and tackle online hatred and misogyny
• Develop our approach to gathering evidence around hate crime, and bring forward a new hate crime publication later in 2017
• Set a specific outcome within our Equality Outcomes on hate crime, and report on progress through our Mainstreaming and Equality Outcomes publication.
• To better measure progress in this area, strengthen national outcome 11 of the National Performance Framework which focuses on our efforts to build strong, inclusive and supportive communities and ensure that the rights and wellbeing of Scotland's minority communities are central to our business.
• Publish an update on progress relating to the implementation of the Advisory Group's recommendations in 2020.