Child Protection Improvement Programme: equality impact assessment record

Record of assessments of the Child Protection Improvement Programme, testing how the programme would affect our aims for equality.


Stage 4: Decision making and monitoring

Identifying and establishing any required mitigating action

If, following the impact analysis, you think you have identified any unlawful discrimination – direct or indirect - you must consider and set out what action will be undertaken to mitigate the negative impact. You will need to consult your legal team in SGLD at this point if you have not already done so.

Have positive or negative impacts been identified for any of the equality groups?

Some positive impacts have potentially been identified for children and young people who belong to one or more protected groups as identified by the legislation. No direct or indirect unlawful discrimination has been identified within this impact assessment. Impacts of the programme on service delivery will be continuously monitored by the Programme management team and reviewed by the Programme's internal governance group. Appropriate action will be taken to eliminate any discriminatory impacts found.

Is the policy directly or indirectly discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010 [6] ?

No

If the policy is indirectly discriminatory, how is it justified under the relevant legislation?

N/A

If not justified, what mitigating action will be undertaken?

N/A

Describing how Equality Impact analysis has shaped the policy making process

No changes to the design of the Programme were considered necessary following the equality impact assessment as there is no evidence to suggest that there will be a negative impact on any individual, with a protected characteristic. However, we will continue to work with our internal and external Advisory Groups, delivery partners and key stakeholders to ensure that we collectively undertake full and on-going consideration of relevant equalities issues.

It is acknowledged that there are some groups of children and young people who are more vulnerable than others or whom face multiple sources of potential discrimination resulting from their LGBTI or disability status, ethnicity and religion or belief. It is further acknowledged that there are limitations in the available data concerning all groups of children exhibiting one or more protected characteristics.

Monitoring and Review

Monitoring of the Programme's milestones and deliverables is the responsibility of the Programme management team. These are documented in the Programme Initiation Document, which is periodically reviewed by the Internal Governance Group.

We know that child protection activity takes place in a complex landscape and that the risks to children's wellbeing are consistently evolving. We will continue to monitor developments taking place in other parts of the UK and elsewhere to ensure that we have a culture of continuous learning and development, informed by the latest research and observable improvements in child protection practice across the globe.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and the Minister for Childcare and Early Years will receive regular updates on progress. The Programme's Internal Governance Group will continue to provide leadership challenge and monitor the evolving impacts of the Programme's improvement activity.

Contact

Email: Francois Roos, Child_Protection@gov.scot

Phone: 0300 244 4000 – Central Enquiry Unit

The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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