Scottish Government publishes Public Sector Equality Duty Regulation 12 report
- Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
- Type: News Item
- Published: 16th December 2025
New four-year plan aims to strengthen equality and accountability across the public sector
The Scottish Government has published a new report setting out its plans to improve how public bodies meet their Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) over the next four years, from 2025 to 2029.
The Public Sector Equality Duty is a legal requirement. It means public bodies must think about equality when making decisions and delivering services. This includes taking action to:
- Prevent discrimination and unfair treatment
- Improve equality of opportunity
- Encourage good relations between different groups of people
The new repots sets outs proposals to help public bodies across Scotland do this better. Key plans include
- Pay gap action plans which would require public bodies to set out how they will reduce pay gaps
- Better involvement of stakeholders, so people and organisations can have more say in how equality duties are put into practice
- More focus on fostering good relations including improving understanding of what this means and building better evidence base of what works
- Stronger leadership and skills with visible leadership from Ministers and more opportunities for learning across the public sector
- Clearer accountability including reviewing how senior leaders are held responsible for meeting equality duties
These proposals reflect many of the concern the ALLIANCE has raised in recent years. In our evidence to Scottish Parliament, we outlined that while PSED is well-intended, it is not yet leading to real improvement for people with protected characteristic. Too often, there is a gap between what the law requires and what happens in practice.
We have also highlighted the need for clearer accountability, better support for public bodies, and a culture of change so equality is treated as a priority at every level, including senior leadership. These issues are recognised in Scottish Government’s focus on leadership, engagement and accountability.
In our 2022 response to a Scottish Government consultation on the PSED, the ALLIANCE also called for a stronger link between equality and human rights. We believe this is essential if public services are to be inclusive and responsive to the needs of people who rely on them.
You can access our 2022 consultation response and our 2025 response to call for views in the resources section below.
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