EQUALITY PROOFING BUDGET AND POLICY ADVISORY GROUP (EPBPAG)
Minutes of meeting held on 23 November 2005 at The Capita Centre, 12/13 St Andrews Square, Edinburgh
Present:
Laura Turney (LT), Gender and Mainstreaming Team, Equality Unit, Scottish Executive (Chair)
Ailsa McKay (AM), Scottish Women's Budget Group/Technical Adviser to Project
Rona Fitzgerald (RF), Scottish Women's Budget Group/Technical Adviser to Project
Jackie Walder (JW), Finance Expenditure Policy, Scottish Executive
Tim Hopkins (TH), Equality Network
Philippa Bonella (PB), Equal Opportunities Commission
Ann Lyon (AL), Mainstreaming Equality Project Team, Scottish Executive
Apologies:
Yvonne Strachan, Head of Equality Unit, Scottish Executive
Ali Jarvis, Commission for Racial Equality
Minutes of meeting held on 14 June 2005
1. The minutes of the previous meeting(s) were agreed.
Action points from meetings on 9 May 2005and 14 June 2005
2. As the meeting on 14 June was focussed on the seminar by Professor Diane Elson, there were very few action points decided for that meeting. Therefore, it was agreed that the action points from both the 14 June and 9 May would be looked at to ensure that the appropriate action was being taken forward.
· Possible seminar with the Finance Committee - To be discussed as an agenda item.
· Publishing minutes on the Executive's Equality Unitwebsite - LT reported that the Equality Unit website as a whole, continues to be under review. The website will be re-organised and the mainstreaming equality section needs to be developed. The budget work currently sits in the mainstreaming equality section. Once the website has been reviewed it was agreed that the minutes would be published.
· It was agreed that dialogue would continue as the draft budget is put together, and specifically that the Equality Budget Pilots should if possible provide a focus for the cross-cutting equality work. It was noted that this cross cutting work was happening on an ongoing basis.
· When pilots completed, the Equality Unitto write on behalf of the Group to all three bodies (Audit Scotland, the Equal Opportunities Committee of the Scottish Parliament and the Equalities Coordinating Group), informing them of progress. Audit Scotland should also be invited to a future meeting and a briefing on budget work should be offered to the Equalities Coordinating Group. It was agreed that it would be a good idea to invite Audit Scotland to join EPBPAG, it was agreed also that the Equal Opportunities Committee would be invited to an EPBPAG meeting (see item 12) and also to offer to visit the ECG and update them on the budget work.
Johnann Lamont, Deputy Minister's evidence to the Equal Opportunities Committee on 1 November 2005
3. LT reported that she felt that the Committee positively received what the Deputy Minister had to say. Despite the meeting covering a lot of ground however, not all the work relevant to the budget process was referenced. The Equality Unit will draft a letter for thethe the Deputy Minister to send to the Committee in order to provide further detail.
4. Building on this EPBPAG members felt that it would be a good idea to hold an informal meeting with the Equal Opportunities Committee to share the knowledge of what EPBPAG is doing. It was also agreed that EPBPAG's work should be clearly contextualised in the mainstreaming equality agenda, drawing on the work that has been done looking at evidence, policy, practice and spend. This would not mean losing focus on budget work, which remains at the core of what EPBPAG does.
Update on the pilots
5. RF gave an update on the pilots and provided a summary of some of the key issues identified from the pilots. Four components were systematic for the process:
§ awareness of the issues;
§ awareness of resource allocation;
§ need to build in gender policy; and
§ a need for the evidence base showing different patterns.
6. RF suggested that the sport pilot might do a beneficiary assessment to finish the project. It would point out the underlying patterns and differentials and help set targets. But it would be for debate as to how EPBPAG could support them.
7. There was discussion as to how the findings of this project should be disseminated, to who, in what format and what time would be best.
· Action Point: RF agreed to prepare a draft list of action points from the report, listing who should do them with a time frame and a separate dissemination plan.
· Action Point: AL to send out full report to members of EPBPAG with a timeframe for comment.
8. JW told EPBPAG that an independent group has been set up to review the Executive's expenditure to ensure budgets are meeting priorities across all Executive departments.
· Action Point: JW to look at the possibility of EPBPAG meeting with this review group.
Oxfam Gender Budgeting CD
9. Oxfam is in the process of producing a CD plus website information to promote the value of gender budgeting and examples of good practice around the UK. The overall purpose is to promote gender budgeting as a way of mainstreaming gender equality in policy and practice. It was reported that Malcolm Chisholm, the Minister for Communities had been interviewed for the CD.
10. The intended audience is policy makers, and voluntary sector organisations aiming to promote gender equality.
Meeting with the Minister and Deputy Minister
11. The members thought it would be a very good idea to invite both the Minister and Deputy Minister to update them on the project.
· Action Point AL to invite the Minister and Deputy Minister to the meeting on the 25 January 2006.
Meeting with the Equal Opportunities Committee and the Finance Committee
12. After some discussion it was agreed that it would not be necessary to speak to the Finance Committee but agreed that it would be worthwhile to meet with the Equal Opportunities Committee on an informal basis to discuss the work of EPBPAG.
· Action Point AL to contact the committee to look at the possibility meet with the Equal Opportunities Committee before a EPBPAG meeting on a non committee day.
Dates for Future Meetings
13. The next meeting will be on 25 January 2006. The group will consider future dates at this meeting.
Equality Unit
November 2005