46 Equality and Human Rights Commission EHRC

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Equality and 151 West George Street Tel: 0141 228 5910

Human Rights 2nd floor Fax: 0141 228 5912Commission Glasgow G2 2JJ [email protected]

The Equality and Human Rights Commission was established by the Equality Act 2006

as the Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

Iain Gray MSP

Scottish Parliament

Edinburgh

EH99 1SP

15 August 2013

Dear Mr Gray

Proposed Bus Regulation (Scotland) Bill

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the equality and anti-

discrimination regulator for Scotland, England and Wales, and one of

Scotlands two National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). We welcome the

opportunity comment on the proposed Bus Regulation (Scotland) Bill.

The Commission has some general points on the proposed bill, as opposed to

specific points to make under the questions provided. Specifically, ourcomments are made with reference the devolved regulatory framework for

equality which covers transport authorities in Scotland - local authorities and

Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs).

Equality Regulation in Scotland: The purpose of the public sector equality

duty is to ensure that public authorities and those carrying out a public

function consider how they can positively contribute to a more equal society

through advancing equality and good relations in their day-to-day business,

to:

take effective action on equality

make the right decisions, first time around

develop better policies and practices, based on evidence

be more transparent, accessible and accountable

deliver improved outcomes for all.


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The public sector equality duty requires equality to be considered in all the

functions of public authorities, including decision-making, in the design of

internal and external policies and in the delivery of services, and for these

issues to be kept under review.

On 27 May 2012 specific regulations, the Scottish Specific Duties1drafted by

Scottish ministers and passed by the Scottish Parliament, came into force.

These set out the steps that key public bodies, including councils and RTPs,need to take to meet the requirements of the duty. These steps include

requirements to report on mainstreaming the equality duty and to publish

equality outcomes by April 2013 and report progress

The EHRC has produced a set of non-statutory guidance on the duties2. We

have published our preliminary analysis of the information published in April

20133, and will publish further qualitative analysis in late summer 2013.

The Commission supports the general aims of the proposed bill, and believesthat it has the potential to improve transport options for many people who

may not have access to alternative public or private transport, increasing

opportunities for economic and social participation.

Bus Use and Equality Groups: reliance on buses is closely linked to socio-

economic disadvantage and protected characteristics: for example, more

than a third of all regular bus passengers live in households with a net annual

income of less than 15,000, and women are significantlymore than 30% -

more likely than men to be regular bus users4. Buses can also be the most

1www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/PublicEqualityDuties

2www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/public-sector-equality-duty/non-statutory-

guidance-for-scottish-public-authorities/3

www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/Scotland/PSED_in_Scotland/measuring_u

p_final_20_06_2013_-_v3.pdf4

Scottish Government, Bus and Coach Statistics 2009-2010,www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-

Travel/TablesPublications/buscoach0910
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/PublicEqualityDutieshttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/PublicEqualityDutieshttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/PublicEqualityDutieshttp://www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/public-sector-equality-duty/non-statutory-guidance-for-scottish-public-authorities/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/public-sector-equality-duty/non-statutory-guidance-for-scottish-public-authorities/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/public-sector-equality-duty/non-statutory-guidance-for-scottish-public-authorities/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/public-sector-equality-duty/non-statutory-guidance-for-scottish-public-authorities/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/Scotland/PSED_in_Scotland/measuring_up_final_20_06_2013_-_v3.pdfhttp://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/Scotland/PSED_in_Scotland/measuring_up_final_20_06_2013_-_v3.pdfhttp://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/Scotland/PSED_in_Scotland/measuring_up_final_20_06_2013_-_v3.pdfhttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/TablesPublications/buscoach0910http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/TablesPublications/buscoach0910http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/TablesPublications/buscoach0910http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/TablesPublications/buscoach0910http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/TablesPublications/buscoach0910http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/Scotland/PSED_in_Scotland/measuring_up_final_20_06_2013_-_v3.pdfhttp://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/Scotland/PSED_in_Scotland/measuring_up_final_20_06_2013_-_v3.pdfhttp://www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/public-sector-equality-duty/non-statutory-guidance-for-scottish-public-authorities/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/scotland/public-sector-equality-duty/non-statutory-guidance-for-scottish-public-authorities/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/PublicEqualityDuties


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viable transport option for other groups, such as some elderly or disabled

people.

As transport authorities are required by the Scottish Specific Equality Duties

to set equality outcomes, they should already have evidence of existing

differences in bus travel by different groups, of some of the underlying

reasons for this. Moving forward, under the new regulatory system proposed

in your consultation document, we would expect transport authorities to use

this kind of evidence, and refer back to their equality outcomes when makingdecisions on awarding routes.

Tendering and Conditionality: the consultation document (19-23) sets out

the rationale for authorities having more say in how routes are run prior to

awarding a contract, covering issues like fare levels, route design and

bundling profitable and unprofitable routes. We would argue that there

are other areas which could be considered, such as staff awareness and

training on differing passengers needs, andon effective policies for dealing

effectively with anti-social behaviour. A 2010 study suggests that poor staffattitudes are one of the main barriers to disabled people using buses more

regularly5, and the Commissions 2011 inquiry report on crime and

harassment affecting disabled people identified public transport as one of

the principal hot spots for this type of anti-social behaviour6.

The Commission supports the policy intentions of the proposed bill, and

believes there may be opportunities to align it with the regulatory levers

above to increase its impact.

I hope this information is useful. If you have any further questions, please do

not hesitate to get in touch.

5Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen), Understanding Why Some People Do Not

Use Buses, April 2010,www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/04/23115458/0

6Equality and Human Rights Commission, Hidden in Plain Sight: Inquiry into disability-

related harassment, September 2011,www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-

plain-sight-the-inquiry-final-report/
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/04/23115458/0http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/04/23115458/0http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/04/23115458/0http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-plain-sight-the-inquiry-final-report/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-plain-sight-the-inquiry-final-report/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-plain-sight-the-inquiry-final-report/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-plain-sight-the-inquiry-final-report/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-plain-sight-the-inquiry-final-report/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-plain-sight-the-inquiry-final-report/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-plain-sight-the-inquiry-final-report/http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/inquiries-and-assessments/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/hidden-in-plain-sight-the-inquiry-final-report/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/04/23115458/0


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Yours sincerely

Euan Page

Government Affairs Manager

Documents

46 Equality and Human Rights Commission EHRC