Equality Evidence Strategy 2014

Equality Evidence Strategy 2014 

1. Purpose of the Equality Evidence Strategy 2014 

This paper sets out the Scottish Government’s Equality and Tackling Poverty Analytical Unit’s 
(E&TPAU) planned analytical output and approach for 2014. 

This builds on the 2013 Equality Evidence Strategy and will allow partners, policy makers and 
analytical colleagues to take these plans into account when oorganizing their own equality work
programmes.

2. Background to the Equality Evidence Strategy 2014

The Scottish Government and its agencies collect, analyse and publish equality-relevant evidence
across a wide range of policy areas. In order to make it easier for users to locate and access this
information, the Scottish Government launched an equality evidence web resource in the summer
of 2012 which provides a wealth of data and other evidence with accompanying commentary,
background papers, and links to further information. The web resource has proven popular with
users. However it was recognised that the Evidence Finder element, in particular, contained a
number of gaps.

In December 2012, the Scottish Government set out a strategy to improve the evidence resource,
fill data gaps, and develop Scotland’s equality evidence base. Implementation of this strategy led
to a number of improvements, including: a new National Performance Framework (NPF) portal; a
new resource pulling Gypsy/Traveller evidence together; evidence reviews on several of the
protected characteristics; better presentation of statistics; and links to research to enhance official
statistics. This paper provides more detail on this progress and sets out further improvements
intended for 2014.

3. Scope of the Equality Evidence Strategy 2014

As with the 2013 Strategy, the focus will be on developing the equality evidence contained within
the existing framework - the equality evidence finder overarching grid (illustrated overleaf). This
grid has been a popular and intuitive portal for users to access equality evidence.

As in the Equality Evidence Strategy 2013, the nine protected characteristics covered by the
Equality Act 2010 are included within scope. At present, some characteristics are better populated
with data than others. Reliable data on gender and age is available from a wide range of data
sources, including sample surveys, and can often be presented at local level.

Up until now, data on ethnicity, religion and disability have been more difficult to source, especially
at sub-national geographies. However the 2011 Census results, currently being released by the
National Records of Scotland (NRS) on a rolling basis, will help to enhance the evidence base for
these characteristics and provide evidence at lower geographies.

Data on sexual orientation and transgender is often limited due to the small numbers of
respondents picked up by sample surveys, and also due the fact that respondents to household
surveys often don’t disclose this information. A question on these characteristics was not included
in the final 2011 Census questionnaire. However the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have
recently announced that, following a consultation, they will retain the question on sexual identity in
the Integrated Household Survey (IHS) every year. New data soon to be available from the
Scottish Government’s core survey questions should further improve the evidence base for these
characteristics. As evidence on ‘pregnancy and maternity’ and ‘marriage and civil partnership’ is
2
limited, these characteristics don’t have separate columns on the evidence finder. They are
however included within the scope of the strategy and evidence is presented in related sections of
the evidence finder. New columns, presenting evidence for example on low socio-economic
groups, will be considered throughout the course of the year and added if there is sufficient
requirement from users.

Fifteen policy areas are also set out (see the rows below for detail on these) and improving
equality evidence for all of these will be within the scope of the strategy. Data on intersectionality
will be included on more than one of the characteristic pages if appropriate. The strategy will seek
to set out an approach to filling equality evidence gaps within this existing framework, although if
stakeholders identify a new policy area then the possibility of adding it will be explored.



The statistics and research contained within the Evidence Finder pages will continue to be
updated by Scottish Government analysts at least twice per year (if applicable), with the main bulk
updates scheduled for May and November each year.

4. User Input to the Equality Evidence Strategy 2014

The 2013 Equality Evidence Strategy was informed by an internal review team and discussions
were held externally with academics, policy makers and third sector organisations. Further to this,
and throughout 2013, the E&TPAU has engaged with:

The Census Equality Data Users Group
In summer 2013, E&TPAU and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) set up a
working group bringing together a range of equality focussed colleagues who either intend to
3
analyse the Census data or use its output to inform policy. This group provides a forum for
stakeholders to be kept abreast of new developments and new releases. It also allows the sharing
of ideas and seeks to see that duplication of effort is avoided. There is a wide range of different
organisations represented.

The DEE-FIG group
This group was established in early 2013 and was led by the Scottish Government in partnership
with Independent Living in Scotland (ILiS). It brought together disabled and non-disabled people’s
organisations to discuss data gaps on disability and share ideas on how these could be filled.
However after low attendance at the last meeting, new options are being considered on how to
best take the group forward.

The NHS equality Knowledge into Action (KIA) network
E&TPAU has engaged with the NHS equalities Knowledge into Action (KIA) network to share
knowledge on developments in equality evidence. This network has been established to improve
access to, and use of, equality evidence to support work on equality mainstreaming, specifically in
relation to equality outcomes, impact assessment, workforce and equal pay. The network’s aims
also include addressing challenges with regard to establishing baseline data and measuring
progress and informing work on health improvement and health inequalities.

Scottish Government Policy Makers
Policy colleagues from the Scottish Government’s Equality Unit have provided a steer on their key
equality data requirements for the coming year and this includes evidencing the new Race
Equality Statement and improving evidence for Equality Outcomes. A key priority is also an
improved Gypsy/Traveller evidence base to inform policy making and the two on-going equal
opportunities inquiries. The need for further analysis to provide a more up-to-date prevalence
estimate of female genital mutilation (FGM) has been agreed. New research on forced marriage
should seek to determine how effective legislation has been and explore the barriers that may
prevent reporting. E&TPAU will continue to engage with policy colleagues throughout the year
and keep abreast of their priorities.

Equality Evidence Finder User Survey
The Equality Evidence Finder web resource has been live now for 18 months and has been well
received by users. We have received informal feedback on this from many of our stakeholders
and this has been useful. Google Analytics has shown there are 3,000 hits on our site every
month and we would like to obtain the views of as large a proportion of these users as possible.
We have disseminated an electronic user survey to find out views on content, usability and
accessibility. This will identify any issues and provide us with a programme for improvement.

Stakeholder buy-in is crucial to the success of the strategy and advice from internal and external
colleagues will continue to be sought throughout the year to ensure that the strategy is in tune with
evolving priorities.

5. Filling Equality Evidence Gaps - Strategic Approach

There is a substantial amount of equality evidence available for Scotland and much of this can be
disaggregated by a number of equality characteristics. This strategy will continue to seek to
ensure that best use is made of existing evidence before recommending new data collection or
new research.

Figure 1 overleaf sets out our approach to filling evidence gaps to ensure that the process is as
cost effective as possible. Priority should continue to be placed on making better use of data that
already exists but is not yet fully analysed or effectively disseminated.
4

The richest source of new equality evidence over the coming year will be the results from the 2011
Census. Since this is only carried out once per decade and provides an abundance of data for
many of the equality characteristics, it will be important that best use is made of this data when it is
released. Following the release of counts of the equality variables late last year, 2014 will see the
release of more detailed multivariate cross-tab data which provide information on the
characteristics of equality groups. The analysis that this will yield will be important for national and
local policy makers to target services and tackle disadvantage. Examples of how equality data
from the previous census was used to improve the lives of the people of Scotland can be found
here.

In addition to the 2011 Census results, data from the Scottish Government’s core survey
questions are set to be made available for the first time for analysis. Core questions are those that
have been included in all Scottish Government cross-sectional surveys from January 2012 and
from which data has been pooled to provide improved estimates. Equality characteristics covered
by this data collection includes gender, age, ethnicity, country of birth, religion, disability and
sexual orientation. Since sexual orientation is not collected in the Census, the core dataset will be
a very valuable evidence source for this characteristic in particular.

There are also a number of official datasets, for example sample surveys, where equality
information has not yet been fully extracted or analysed. Where there is a clear user need and
where time and resources allow, information will be pulled out from these datasets and made
available on the Equality Evidence Finder.

The Scottish Government has recently published a strategy to build on successful data linkage
programmes1
and the E&TPAU will consider how linked datasets or new data linkage projects
could be used to enhance the equality evidence base. Data linkage has already been used
effectively to improve the equality evidence base in Scotland, and an example of this is The
Scottish Health and Ethnicity Linkage Study, which linked the Ethnic Code in the Scottish Census to NHS Data.Equ