The Scottish Parliament: - Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

We in the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and Senior Management Team of the Parliament are fully committed to tackling discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity and treatment. This Equality Framework is a comprehensive equal opportunities policy for the Scottish Parliament as both an employer and service provider.

It is easy to pay lip-service to the concept of equal opportunities. We know that equal opportunities for all is a founding principle of the Parliament, and readily accept that both the Parliament and the democratic process more widely need to be fully inclusive. However, taking action to deliver on this offers us a great challenge.

This Framework takes us further in meeting this challenge and will guide the work that we do to assess and improve the ways in which we engage with people. Too often, the equal opportunities policies of organisations sit on bookshelves gathering dust, only being referred to when a potential case of discrimination arises. We are committed to ensuring that this does not happen with this Framework, which is not just a collection of policies, but also a tool designed to assist everyone connected with the Parliament. The guidance that is contained within this Framework for both Members and staff is designed to be practical and relevant to the context in which we work, and this will be supplemented with equal opportunities training.

The Framework itself presents many challenges, and much work remains to be done. Additional detailed policies will be devised which will have strong links with this Framework. For example, whilst the Equality Framework clearly states that discrimination on grounds of family status will not be tolerated, it is in the interests of staff, Members and the organisation as a whole that we should have in place clear policies to promote a healthy work-life balance. Further policies that will be devised to deal with issues such as part-time working and job-share arrangements will be key, therefore, to ensuring that the Equality Framework has a genuine and significant impact on the way we work with and treat each other.

Promoting equal opportunities is not an optional add-on to our work, and it is about more than just complying with the relevant pieces of legislation. It is, in fact, an integral part of maximising the effectiveness of the work that we are all doing. We cannot claim that we are delivering effective services if, at the same time, there are significant barriers for people when they try to access these services. In reality, the concept of equal opportunities must be central to all of our efforts to maximise the effectiveness of the Parliament and the impact of devolution in Scotland.