Mainstreaming and Equality Outcomes Report - Update on Progress, April 2025
Equality Outcomes 2024 to 2026
These are the draft new Outcomes for 2024 to 2026. ILF Scotland staff and Advisory and Young Ambassadors Group members have been consulted on these. They were submitted to the ILF Scotland Equality Committee and SMT for sign off and then to the Remuneration Committee for information before receiving final approval from the Board. They have been integrated as SMART objectives into our business plan.
Outcome 1 - Integrated Equality Impact Assessments
Integrated Impact Assessments are consistently applied across the organisation with a commitment to have our staff members appropriately trained and our board members fully aware of this.
Action: Further embed the use of Equality Impact Screening and Assessment practices across all business functions by providing additional awareness and practice training to Managers by the end of 2024 to 2025.
Progress: EQIAs have been revised to include “care experienced” as part of the assessment process. As part of the implementation of UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, EQIAs are being reviewed to incorporate Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments (CRWIA). Training and awareness sessions were provided to staff in 2024 and a further session is planned in Q1 of 2025. We also intend to more formally incorporate poverty considerations as part of our EQIA screening and will develop or thinking and practice around this during 2025 to 2026.
Outcome 2 - Promote Neuro Inclusion
To start the neuro inclusion journey within ILF Scotland focused on developing a neuro inclusive culture with the aim of creating even greater comfort and belonging for our diverse staff group.
Action: Raise awareness of neurodiversity and provide staff training to cover this area specifically as part of our equality and diversity training. Provide more detailed training to front line staff working in the Transition Fund so that they can provide and informed customer service to young people who are neurodivergent.
Progress: We have been discussing the awareness and training needs of our staff to raise awareness and to help deliver a neuro inclusive culture in the longer term. We are consulting with staff to identify gaps in knowledge and plan to deliver a full training programme beginning in Q3 of 2025 to 2026.
Outcome 3 - Corporate Parenting
More young disabled people who care experienced are aware of the Transition Fund and how to apply and our staff and Board members are aware of the Transition Fund and how it might positively impact care experienced young people.
Action: Through our Corporate Parenting Plan, we will further develop our communications strategy to target care experienced young people and those that support them to ensure they are aware of the Transition Fund. We will ensure ILF Scotland staff and Board Members are aware of the principles of Corporate Parenting through training courses and induction programmes.
Progress: All ILF Staff and Board Members have received training and awareness of Corporate Parenting in the last year. We continue to review our communication strategies to ensure that young people are aware of both the Transition Fund and the re-opened Independent Living Fund as this is also accessible to 16 -18-year-olds.
Outcome 4 - ILF Re-Opening
Following an announcement by the First Minister in September 2023, the Independent Living Fund, closed to new applications since 2010, re-opened to new applicants in April 2024 with the aim of enabling up to 1,000 additional disabled people with the most complex needs to access the support they need and deserve to live independent lives.
A Co-Production Working Group was established in October 2023, consisting of disabled people, carers, disabled people's organisations (DPOs) and representatives of ILF Scotland, the Scottish Government and health and social care statutory partners. A range of engagement events were held to seek views on the policy framework for the re-opened fund. A commitment was given to continue to develop policy in 2024 to 2025.
Action: Facilitate meetings of the Co-production Working Group every two months in 2024 to 2025, with the first meeting to be scheduled for June 2024. Report on learning from the first two months of receiving applications to the re-opened fund and work together with the group and others as required to further develop policies around the key issues raised by disabled people and others at the re-opening engagement events. Arrange further co-production opportunities with our recipients and others as part of our strategic planning consultations in the latter part of 2024 to 2025.
These equality outcomes will guide our progress and direction, which will be monitored by our Equality Committee. We will develop action plans and monitor and review these annually to ensure we remain on track and will update progress annually as well as updating plans with any relevant information due to unplanned and / or unforeseen national and international events.
Progress: The Co-Production Working Group continues to meet every two months, reviewing the progress of applications to the re-opened Fund. During the past year, a recommendation to introduce an element of Unpaid Care into the calculation of the Threshold Sum has been implemented, which allows additional applications from disabled people who receive a significant amount of unpaid care from someone living with them.
Our Equality Committee is meeting regularly and has oversight of all relevant action plans and reports.
Conclusion
We have always set equality outcomes with the intention that we truly embed equality, diversity and inclusion into our strategic and annual delivery plans and our daily activities. While we have not been able to achieve everything, we set out to do, we recognise that we have progressed well and we remain committed to continue our equality journey.
Our Equality outcomes are co-produced through the work we do to engage with and listen to our recipients and our staff, then formally set by and approved by our Board. Board members provide the necessary scrutiny to ensure that we meet our duties and consider potential equality impacts as part of our corporate decision-making.
Our SMT shares responsibility for promoting and embedding equality in our plans, projects and operational processes and our Equality Committee oversees this work.
Each employee also has an individual responsibility for considering equality issues in all areas of the work we do and in working with others to continually enhance our processes.
We will continue to instigate and implement innovative ways to understand the needs of our recipients, listening and working hard, to learn and improve what we do.
We will use the employee equality metrics in this report together with developing best practice, to support and inform our recruitment and employment practices, to improve our workforce equality and diversity and to promote the organisation as an employer of choice.
As a Non-Departmental Public Body, we ultimately aspire to continue to work in partnership with the Scottish Government and other Public Bodies, to be an inclusive employer and to continue to enhance the access to our services and the support provided to disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
