About the Scottish Parliament

The aim of this paper is to provide guidance to parliamentary committees on the budget process, which is based on the Budget Review Group’s 2017 review of the budget  process. The Group’s report can be found here: 

Budget Review Group - Final Report

The scrutiny of equality issues was a core consideration for the Budget Process Review Group in considering the structure of the budget process and in recognition of the importance of equal opportunities in the founding principles of the Scottish Parliament. It is vital that the link between equality and budgetary considerations is maintained under the new budget scrutiny process.

Parliamentary committees should undertake public engagement on policy priorities and equalities issues, within their remit, prior to the publication of, and in order to inform, the Scottish Government’s budget. They should also engage with service users as well as service providers in evaluating the impact of previous budgets.

As part of their scrutiny, committees should consider the Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement which has been developed by the Scottish Government and the Equality and Budget Advisory Group and is published alongside the Budget document.

The Statement refers to the Public Sector Equality Duties, aimed at eliminating discrimination, advancing equality, and fostering good relations, and the Fairer Scotland Duty aimed at reducing socio-economic disadvantage. Both sets of duties apply to public authorities and the Scottish Government.