In accordance with equalities legislation, NHS boards and Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) are responsible for impact assessing the engagement process. They must also ensure any potential adverse impacts of proposed changes to services have been taken into account.

Measures must be taken, in both the engagement process and proposal, not to inadvertently exclude or discriminate groups of the population.

Background

We have updated our previous flowchart to take account of the following new guidance and policy:

• The Fairer Scotland Duty (FSD), set out in Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010, came into force in Scotland from 1 April 2018. It places a legal responsibility on particular public bodies in Scotland to actively consider (‘pay due regard’ to) how they can reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage when making strategic decisions.
• Scottish Government and COSLA community engagement guidance, Planning with People (2023), advises that impact assessment must be started well before any engagement activity begins, and be updated throughout.
• The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 introduces measures to support and help meet the unique needs of Scotland's islands now and in the future.