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Committee report highlights equalities and human rights impact of pandemic

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 2nd March 2021

The Committee found substantial negative impact on rights and worsening inequalities, including for disabled people.

The Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee have published the outcome of their inquiry into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on equalities and human rights. Their report provides further evidence that the pandemic has worsened existing inequalities. (this link will take you away from our website)

The report raises a number of concerns including:

  • The decision not to designate blind and partially sighted people as a “vulnerable group”, which had implications for access to basic essentials such as food deliveries.
  • A sudden reduction in the level of social care provided to people receiving care at home.
  • Severe increase in poor mental health, including amongst autistic people and people with learning difficulties.
  • Digital exclusion, particularly of older people and people with long conditions, in the transition to providing many services via the internet.
  • Widespread feeling amongst disabled people that they had been forgotten about.

Evidence submitted by the ALLIANCE is referenced at multiple points, including our concerns about a lack of inclusive communication and information, lack of scrutiny and transparency in decision-making surrounding changes to social care packages, and the need to pay particular attention to unpaid carers during pandemic recovery.

Overall, whilst the Committee welcomed and understood the reasons for rapid action, it stressed the need for compliance with all equalities and human rights standards. They queried whether these standards were being considered by public bodies, given substantial evidence of poor compliance.

Apart from subject-specific recommendations, they have also emphasised the need for systematic, intersectional, disaggregated data collection in order to carry out a full assessment of the impact on protected groups. The ALLIANCE have made similar recommendations in other areas of our work, such as our My Support, My choice research.

Addressing these inequalities and implementing a truly human rights-based approach to services must be a key priority for the next Scottish Parliament. Equally Valued, the ALLIANCE manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Parliament Elections, lays out the key policies we believe are necessary in relation to pandemic recovery and human rights.

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